1000 Questions

I’ve been trying desperately to understand this new push by the senate to get a public option passed through reconciliation.

Did the Administration and the Senate grow something, give the insurance industry just enough rope to hang itself, or was this simply a trap?

Did the insurance industry underestimate the current administration and congress’ ability to successfully address health insurance reform? Did it get played like a fiddle by this administration and congress? Did it act too soon by falling prey to the very greed that has driven this industry for years?

Did the insurance industry have just enough disdain and arrogance that it figured it could start gouging consumers long before the ink was dry on the death certificate of health insurance reform? Did it hedge its bet that it couldn’t lose in the health insurance reform debate? Did it make the calculated bet that the worse that would happen if reform failed would be that it would be left with the ability to raise premiums and to deny and drop coverage indiscriminately? Did it bet that if reform passed that it would not have a public option and a 30 million new customer jackpot would be hit with all obligated by law to purchase health insurance at whatever the market rate set by the insurance industry?

Did the insurance industry get caught believing the 24×7 hype about the struggles surrounding reform? Did it get trapped reading and listening to all of the negative information designed to motivate and drive the failure of Barack Obama, his administration, and oh by the way health insurance reform? Was it fooled into thinking that Jim DeMint and his gang of saboteurs could successfully defeat reform and bring Barack Obama to his waterloo?

Was the behavior of Anthem Blue Cross of California and the reports of its 30 to 39 percent major rate hike affecting 800, 000 policyholders really a harbinger of rising premiums?

Or was this the behavior that the administration and congress needed in order to move forward with health insurance reform?

And now Dianne Feinstein plans to introduce legislation that would bar insurance companies from enacting premium increases that the government deems unjustified.

Are we just lucky or is there something to this?

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