An Industry in the Crosshairs
As any casual observer of the Democratic primary can see, the insurance industry is everyone’s favorite punching bag. Each candidate—with the exception of perhaps Hillary Clinton—struggles to land a bigger punch than the next guy.
Here’s a fairly typical statement from John Edwards, one of the top three contenders for the Democratic nomination:
The American health care system is broken because wealthy insurance corporations and their lobbyists have rigged the system against the American people.
Ouch.
As tone deaf as the health insurance industry can be, they’re starting to take notice. They’re starting to hear the roar of applause after candidates A through Z slam them mercilessly. And according to this article from Times, they’re considering changing course to reflect the growing chorus of voices that demand that they provide more instead of less.
“The individual market is recognizing that we need to improve the way we do business today,” says Don Hamm, the chief executive of Assurant Health.
This is an important—and timely—realization. Especially when more Americans are getting comfortable with the idea of universal coverage and more cynical about those arguing against such a plan. It’s an important realization because states that are tired of waiting for Washington are taking charge and finding solutions on their own, with or without the blessing of the major insurers.
Hamm isn’t the only health care exec who sees the writing on the wall. He and his cohorts at America’s Health Insurance Plans, the largest trade group for the health insurance industry, are putting together proposals that would seek to cover more people—even if it costs them money.
“The health insurance is coming to grips with the fact that practices that are clearly driven by market forces are giving the industry a black eye,” says Paul B. Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change. (Ginsberg’s quote came also from the Times article.)
After many years of insisting on the status quo, this move from top insurers is no less than revolutionary. But it’s clearly their only viable option. It’s that or continue trudging toward extinction.
Some do no not believe there’s a health care “crisis”—indeed some commentators say it’s a fabrication of a biased media. Even if that’s the case, the story that John Edwards is telling is catching hold, and it may be hard to rewrite. Crisis or not, the perception among the populace is, at best, that the system is broken. At worst, they think that it’s “rigged” against them.
Hamm and his like-minded colleagues at America’s Health Insurance Plans may just be the rescuers of their industry.
Comments
There's definitely a problem with the health care system in this country... but the problem is not going to be solved by more government intervention; the problem IS TOO MUCH government intervention.
Genuine privatization and minimal government subsidies are the way to go. And in the meantime, yes, the private sector must stand up and demonstrate their ability to function adequately without overwhelming government tinkering.
Posted by: Joe White | January 8, 2008 02:11 PM