by Tina Grazier
What is it that drives up health care costs? We’ve talked about stupid government regulation that blocks insurance companies from competing in every state and we’ve talked about government programs like Medicare and Medicaid that underpay doctors and hospitals for their services. We’ve talked about tort reform that could mean billions in savings. The fraud and abuse in government health care programs has been well documented by a government that has yet to do anything substantive about it. What we haven’t talked about specifically are two things that make the public very angry…fat paychecks, bonuses, and perks for big execs and government deal making with those execs. An article today in the New York Observer is bound to set your hair on fire if you’re one that loves to hate the bigwigs and lobbyists:
“An Obscene Protest,” by Joe Conason – New York Observer
They’re among the most highly paid suits in the country–not owing to any skill in providing health care, which they don’t do, but because they have succeeded in denying care, quashing competition, driving up costs and winning federal subsidies for their companies. ** Last year WellPoint, the country’s largest health insurer, paid chief executive Angela Braly just under $10 million in salary, options and bonuses, along with the use of a private jet for herself and her family. That included a raise of about $750,000 over her 2007 salary. United Health Care, the second largest, paid CEO Stephen J. Hemsley only $3.2 million last year, but in 2007 he took home $13.2 million. His biggest bonanza got away when he was forced by the Securities and Exchange Commission to surrender $190 million in falsely backdated stock options, but that was nothing compared with the nearly $1 billion in options that his predecessor was required to disgorge. The S.E.C. declined to prosecute anyone for those frauds. Meanwhile, the CEO of Aetna, Ronald Williams, earned $23 million in 2008, and the CEO of CIGNA, Edward Hanway, brought home a total of $120 million over the past five years, plus nearly $29 million in stock options. (emphasis mine)
Unfortunately Mr Conason seems to believe that the insurance execs are at the root of our health care woes and also seems to support the public option. I do not. As many of you know I don’t believe it is wise for government to establish pay amounts for any private business executive or employee. I believe that idea goes against the American ideal of freedom and our right to pursue happiness. I don’t blame corporations for lobbying in Washington. As long as Washington insists on inserting itself into the affairs of business lobbying, the right to petition government, is to be expected. What I hate is government and lobbyists forming behind the scenes partnerships to push for specific legislation. That becomes a method of usurping the will of the people and bypassing representative government. How do we stop this practice?
People look to the government to solve problems and that is at the root of all of the problems in health care. In truth we citizens must take power away from government if we are ever to see real change, improvement, competition, and lower prices in our health care system. The status quo, as our President loves to call it, includes government involvement in the health care business! Health care providers, those who are actually involved in caring for us, must depend on health care businesses in order to practice their art and craft. They have not been served well by business or government since the government became involved in the industry in the 1960’s.
If we want to see real change, change that has a chance for making health care affordable and available to all, we must stop giving government and the health care bigwigs the opportunity to collude. We must force insurance to stand on it’s own, to sink or swim, to be answerable to the consumer. We must force them into open competition and we must give them regulation that supports all insurance companies in serving the American people.