Wendell Potter on Chuck Grassley: Clearly This Senator Has the Insurance Industry's Best Interest at Heart
By Heather Thursday Oct 01, 2009 5:00pm
Wendell Potter takes Chuck Grassley to task on Democracy Now when asked about his reaction to his rejection of the public option amendment offered by Chuck Schumer.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go back to yesterday’s debate in the Senate Finance Committee. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, who introduced one of the public option amendments, questioned Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa over his rejection of government-run health insurance option.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER: I’d just like to know what you think of Medicare, a government-run program that’s far more government-run than what Senator Rockefeller has proposed? Do you think Medicare is a good program? Because most of the amendments on the other side have been aimed at preserving Medicare, a government-run program.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY: I think that Medicare is part of the social fabric of America, after forty years, just like Social Security is. And I don’t say that because it’s perfect. There’s a lot of things that need to be changed, and a lot of the things in this legislation are changing a lot of things that’s wrong with Medicare. And to say that I support it is not to say that it’s the best system that it can be.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER: But it is a government-run plan, isn’t that right?
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY: It is a government-run plan.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER: Thank you.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY: And not—and the reason I say it’s part of the social fabric of America is there are private health insurance plans and retirement plans that are connected with Medicare and Social Security, and it’s not easy to undo a Medicare plan without also hurting a lot of private initiatives that are coupled with it. But that does not make it perfect. And I’ll bet, based upon fifty years of experience, if we had to do it over again, we’d do it other ways, even if it were a government-run plan.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Chuck Grassley. Wendell Potter, your response?
WENDELL POTTER: Well, clearly, this senator has the insurance industry’s best interests at heart, not the American public and not his constituents. The Medicare program is, as he said, part of the social fabric of this country and has been for many years. And it is a government-run plan that has meant a great deal of difference to a lot of people in this country, including certainly his constituents.
He has said that he didn’t think a public plan would be fair, compete fairly with insurance companies who—the private insurance industry. I’d like to ask him what is fair about the way that the insurance industries operate today, the companies that dump sick people when they need insurance most. What is fair about the way the insurance industry operates, Senator Grassley?
AMY GOODMAN: Forty-five million new customers, that’s what the private insurance companies can now look forward to, if a bill like what came out of the Senate Finance Committee moves forward with the mandate. Explain how they will make out and how important, how significant, how profitable this is for the for-profit companies.
WENDELL POTTER: Yeah, this is the first time that the insurance industry has really seen great opportunity in healthcare reform, with an individual mandate, which would require all of us to buy insurance if we are not eligible for a public, government-run program, which, fortunately, many people are. We would have to buy it in the private market from insurance companies, many of whom—many of which are for-profit companies. We would not have the option of buying or getting insurance through a government-run program like the public option would create.
So, not only would our premium dollars go into this—into the private insurance industry, but a lot of tax dollars would. Most people who don’t have insurance can’t afford it, and they wouldn’t be able to afford it after healthcare reform is passed without the government subsidizing their premiums. So billions and billions of taxpayers’ dollars will flow right into the treasuries of these big for-profit insurance companies. So we will be essentially paying a tax that will help support these insurance companies. It will be an enormous bailout of the health insurance industry.
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for the money they get? Nothing, except their salaries and bonuses for managing the office workers who deny as much coverage as they can. Literally, bloodsucking parasites they are.
'go to' programs to get real news...The rest are a waste of time..even CNN has begun to look like Fox..IHT, FT, The Guardian and etc also bring it!
Guardian had a great article on the 6 to 1 ratio of HC lobbyists to congress inside the beltway yesterday!!
My goodness!
A POLITICIAN BOUGHT AND PAID FOR BY INSURANCE COMPANIES WANTING TO HELP INSURANCE COMPANIES????
What'll they think of next?
They are all owned by the big corps. We need to empty washington of these walking corps!
republicanism is a mental illness. It is affecting dems also
Regulate the fucking insurance companies, they are fucking nazis, dr Mengele who decides over life or death. The real death panels!
It doesn't cover your pathetic plan you payed all your life to.....you are fucked!
Great job Iowa, allowing this stupid old whore to place his personal financial/political interests above your entire state.
single payer or nothing. If the only ones who get anything out of this fiasco are the insurance companies, then it is a gift to them, not reform. I do believe that it is illegal to make a gift of public monies, and I suspect mandated purchase of insurance policies from private insurance companies is illegal, especially if the mandate is enforced by the government. This cannot be. Single payer or nothing. Nothing is better then hell. If you think things are bad now, wait until this travesty becomes law.
"...and the reason I say it's part of the social fabric of America is there are private health insurance plans and retirement plans (emphasis added) that are connected with Medicare and Social Security, and it’s not easy to undo a Medicare plan without also hurting a lot of private initiatives (again, emphasis added)that are coupled with it." What "retirement plans" is he referring to? As for Medicare and private insurance companies, there are those supplemental scams and the Part D thieves with their "donut hole." Both of these were intended by Bush Co. to gradually phase in privatization of Medicare and Social Security. That is why Grassley mentions retirement plans. He's using a brain washing technique. Or a Rovian tactic. Repeat a lie five times in public, and it becomes the truth.
Glen Ford here
The only problem is, none of the four other committees are considering such a strong provision.
The 'Public Option' in those committees is a very watered down version, as were the ones proposed in the Senate Finance committee headed by Max Baucus (R-Aetna).
So what is the excuse for pretending they are so bound? Huh?
My excuse or their excuse?
to say.
If the U.S. were hit by tsunami with a death toll of 230,000 every five years, how much money would we be willing to spend on a coastal defense system? Who would stand up in Congress and speechify that it would cost too much to build the seawall? Who would cry about 'massive government takeover' of the beaches? Would anyone claim that tsunami is just a part of nature and a little water never hurt anybody?
Nevermind.
House Republican Leader Boehner claims he's never heard from anyone - other than is Democratic colleagues - who favors a public option.
Give him a call: (202) 225-4000
Send him a fax: (202) 225-5117
Send him an email (webform): http://republicanleader.house.gov/Contact/
Let House Minority Leader Boehner hear from some just plain folks who favor a robust public option!
(... you might also remind him that recent polls suggest about 60% of our fellow citizens agree with you!)
While I'm at it: Senate Minority Leader McConnell probably ought to hear from us just plain folks, too.
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499
email (webform): http://mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm
Tell Senate Minority Leader McConnell that you're just a regular American who strongly favors a robust public option!
That's because his staff deletes the phone messages and e-mails he gets from the opposition, and the opposition is not allowed at any public appearances he makes. He makes this ridiculous statement that my cat can see through, and then he acts like he has actually said something important. Then the MSM swarms all over it like flies on a dead mouse on a sidewalk on a hot August day. (My cat made me say that last part. I agree with her, though.)
I can't understand for the life of me what these people are thinking. Forcing people to buy high priced insurance, with minimal regulation of the insurance industry, by force of jail or fines. Obama apparently forgot who his base is. We are not Republicans, we are intelligent, thinking, rational, logical people. We understand when someone is trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Does he really think that by signing any health care reform bill he will have satisfied his campaign promise. Well he's dead wrong. We want "REAL" health care reform. Not some sham bill that the politicians think we are too stupid to understand. We aren't fooled by his weak financial regulations, and we won't be fooled by this pathetic health care reform bill!
about how politicians make campaign promises and never keep them after they are elected to office. Why do we keep falling for these lies? Hope springs eternal? It isn't funny. It's dishonest.
"So we will be essentially paying a tax that will help support these insurance companies. It will be an enormous bailout of the health insurance industry."
Bailout? Since when did these greedhead motherf#@!ers need a bailout? Aren't they doing rather well on the blood money they've already sucked from the citizens of this country?
.
a bit to the MSM memes using the terms 'tax' and 'bailout' in his explanation.
What he meant was that if/when one of the current bills is enacted, and it includes a mandate for every American to have health insurance, those who cannot afford to pay the lowest premiums for the shittiest coverage will get subsidies from the government to give to the insurance companies to make up the difference.
So, not only will the insurance companies be continuing to pull in billions in premiums from insureds - they will also get billions in subsidies from the gov't - which come from the tax pool. Essentially it will be as Wendell said about 10 days ago, the Congress should call this "The Health Insurance Company Profit Protection and Enhancement Act."
None of this has anything whatsoever to do with providing better health care for anyone.
Once again, We The People are about to get royally screwed by the corpora-fascists who own the government.
I believe the GOP is trying to use reverse psychology by pretending that they do not want a bill. They have been paid to get as much as possible for the corporations. To pass this gift bill is exactly what they want. Someone please put an American flag over it and suffocate it. We can regroup and try again.
If this thing is passed, it won't really take effect until 2013. Why is that? Oh, I get it. The next presidential election will be over by then, and most everyone will have given up on the whole situation. This is such total and complete manipulation on behalf of the health insurance companies and Big Pharma by DC. I just need to smack someone. May they all get what they deserve, and three times over.
Remember the "Take your phone number with you" act that Bush passed?
EVERYBODY loved the idea that you could keep your mobile number if you changed phone companies. What's to argue about?
The only problem was, it allowed the phone companies to tack a fee onto EVERYONE'S bill, regardless of whether you switched your company or not, typically a dollar or so, which amounts to, oh, a couple hundred million dollars EVERY MONTH windfall profit for the Telecom companies.
A single-payer Government Run healthcare program wouldn't involve this kind of theft. The only people it might help are doctors and nurses who would get more business.
Senators Rockefeller, Schumer, Stabenow and Widen of the Senate Finance Committee Sub-committee on Health, did a great job of pointing out that the Medical Industrial Complex's contribution to Health Care Reform, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is $20 BILLION and in return they will get $500 BILLION in TAX-PAYER FUNDED SUBSIDIES. Democratic Senators baucus, conrad, carper, lincoln and nelson voted with the republicans to kill the public option 09-29-09.
Criminally corrupt politicians are the reason the U.S. is ranked near the bottom of every catagory when ranked next to other modern, industrialized nations. Time for publically funded elections.
lieberman $12.6M, mcconnell $7.8M, baucus $7.7M, cornyn $6.7M,
kyl $5.6M, grassley $5.4M, ensign $5.2M, conrad $5.1M, cantor $4.9M,
nelson $4.9M, burr $4.8M, boehner $4.4M, hatch $4.4M, lincoln $4.1M,
vitter $3.9M, carper $3.6M were paid by the Medical Industrial Complex to kill Health Care Reform. (Source: OpenSecrets.org, Aug. 09)
Follow the Money: Link
Call Congress and demand, Single-Payer Health Care for All!
(Toll Free # House and Senate)
1-866-338-1015 _____ 1-866-220-0044
1-800-473-6711 _____ 1-866-311-3405
Sign Single-Payer Petitions: Link Link
Don’t let the Medical Industrial Complex steal your Health Care from you and your family by donating huge sums of money to Crooked Politicians in order to maintain the Status Quo. Keep up the good fight.
SEMPER FI!
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