Single Payer Healthcare - Effect on Medical Industry

[XenaLives]

Lobbyists should not have more influence than people.

Documented political obstruction of Single Payer:


A slide from Partnership for America’s Health Care Future presentation.

An excerpt:

In several competitive races, the Partnership pressed candidates to use industry-crafted talking points when speaking about health care. In one internal planning document circulated with health care lobbyists, the Partnership touted its influence over Danny O’Connor, the Columbus, Ohio-area Democrat who ran for the 12th Congressional District, claiming that O’Connor used Partnership talking points “in national news interviews.” (O’Connor’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.)

Several of the candidates who agreed to embrace the Partnership’s messaging and policy ideas, including Donnelly and O’Connor, came up short on Election Day. A recount ending on November 18 confirmed that Nelson received fewer votes than Republican challenger Rick Scott. But soon after Election Day results came in, the Partnership went on the offensive, informing reporters that candidates who embraced “Medicare for All” had also lost, pointing to the defeat of progressives such as Kara Eastman in Nebraska. The group also relied on research from the business-friendly Democratic think tank Third Way to argue that victorious pro-“Medicare for All” candidates couldn’t attribute their success to having supported “Medicare for All” because few Democrats explicitly mentioned the policy in their campaign advertisements.

“’Medicare for All’ didn’t win,” said Joel Kopperud, the vice president of government affairs at the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, one of the industry groups backing the Partnership. “I don’t think that the Bernie Sanders $32 trillion solution that’s going to eviscerate the insurance for 156 million Americans is really something that’s going to be helpful to the party in critical states,” he added in an interview with The Intercept.

Kopperud represents insurance brokers who sell employer-based health insurance coverage. He noted that his organization has a vested interest in backing the Partnership. “Medicare for All,” as some envision the policy, would eventually eliminate the need for most health insurance plans — a death knell for companies represented by the CIAB.

https://theintercept.com/2018/11/20/medicare-for-all-healthcare-industry/