Who Benefits from This Reform?

Nov 9, 2009

There is no cost control whatsoever built into the system. The Obama administration reached deals with the different health care industries to cut costs. In reality, the drug industry, the insurance industry and the hospital industry each agreed ONLY to “limit voluntarily” their INCREASES.

For the population, the “reform” is nothing but an attack.

Medical costs, insurance costs will continue to go up. Most of those who didn’t buy insurance before will have as hard a time buying it now as they did before or they’ll have to pay a fine–and get nothing.

Those who have insurance will be hit with higher bills, taxes and costs. The Senate Finance Plan put a tax on so-called “gold-plated” insurance plans offered by employers. “Gold-plated”? AFSCME, the union representing state and local government workers, estimated that half its membership would be hit by this proposal–not to mention workers in heavy industry whose medical coverage has long been attacked for being “gold-plated.”

People already on Medicare will face cuts–400 billion dollars is to be cut out of Medicare in the House bill, even though Medicare has much less waste built into it than does privately run insurance.

People on Medicaid will face cuts in addition to the ones recently made, and those going into Medicaid will find that the majority of doctors will not accept it.

But for the medical industries, the “reform” is a bonanza. The insurance companies, faced with declining enrollments, expect to augment their rolls–and charge more money. The pharmaceutical companies not only expect new consumers, they have been targeted for big subsidies for biotech therapies. Hospital companies, fearing more unpaid bills and emergency room visits as the unemployment crisis worsens, now expect to recoup those losses.