Posted on June 21, 2009 in Articles

If you remember the platforms of the 2008 campaign, Obama and other Democratic nominees endorsed health care reform centered around providing a low-cost public option, allowing quicker and wider distribution of generic pharmaceutical alternatives, and investing in America’s antiquated medical infrastructure. Obama went as far as to suggest in late 2007 that “The time has come for universal health care in America… I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country.” [source]

Public option health care plan is becoming more of a dream and less of a reality thanks to heavy lobbying of Congress by the health care industry. The estimated $1 to $2 trillion dollars in health care reform is starting to resemble a bailout that will solidify the monopolies of health care companies. The new health care reform bill championed by centrist Democrats encourages ‘free-market’ principles, or, for those unfamiliar, the active encouragement by the legislative branch of collusion between health care companies and exploitation of American consumers. Essentially, the health care reform bill has been transformed from a consumer-oriented reform package to a massive kick back to the health care industry, with a mere wrist-slap for their more unscrupulous practices.

Incidentally, this movement towards a health care industry, pharmaceutical-friendly coincided by very damning appearances by health care CEOs in front of congress. This included admissions by the CEO of Assurant and UnitedHealth that their companies colluded with providers to drive up prices, dropped coverage when consumers became sick, and rewarding employees for denying coverage to lower-class people. [source]

Unless there is significant action towards reclaiming health care reform, Americans will be facing another government-sponsored funneling of tax-payer money towards big business.

See Also: More on the public option, As Healthcare Flounders, Is Comprehensive Health Care Reform Dead?, Early Reviews Of House Health Care: Walking Back From The Ledge, Health Care Reform Could Save $1.82 Trillion, Memo to the President: What You Must Do To Save Universal Health Care, Death by Spreadsheet, Another Moderate Dem Likes Healthcare Co-Op Idea, Testing My PATIENTS, Someone Fax This To Congress, THE ‘HEAD-KNOCKING STYLE OF GOVERNANCE, And in a painful decade or three, healthcare changed, and Saving Universal Health Care.

[tags]health care reform, lobbying, health care industry, universal health care, barack obama, congress, senate, health care bailout, assurant, united health, pharmaceutical industry, lobbyists, free market, tax payer money[/tags]