George Graham

Medicare for All. Now.

HealthInsuranCompanies

 

The health insurance companies are making the prospect of government run competition look more appealing every day. For example, Aetna (which recently bought out my insurer, Coventry) is opting out of Obamacare in all but four states next year.
health careAetna is not alone. More than 40 companies have abandoned Obamacare in various states so far.

They cite sensible sounding “financial” reasons. But I suspect they’re deliberately sabotaging Obamacare. What their flunkies in Congress tried and tried and tried to do and couldn’t, they’re trying to do themselves.

If they can make it look as if Obamacare is failing, their political puppets will have a launching pad for a new assault on the program.

If the Republicans win in November, you can be sure they will find a way to roll back the health insurance clock, depriving millions of Americans of the coverage they can receive only under Obamacare. That includes people with “preexisting conditions” (like my friend Jan, who had breast cancer).

If Democrats win, they must introduce a government run health insurance program to compete with the private companies.

It should include the expansion of Medicare to cover people of any age. That would be the simplest thing to do.

And I don’t see how the private insurers could complain. They are always saying how inefficient the government is, so why should they fear government competition?

Of course that kind of competition would rein in their obscene profiteering at our expense. But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Click for Aetna story.

About the author

gwgraeme

I am a Jamaican-born writer who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States. I live in Lakeland, Florida with my wife, Sandra, our three cats and two dogs. I like to play golf and enjoy our garden, even though it's a lot of work. Since retiring from newspaper reporting I've written a few books. I also write a monthly column for Jamaicans.com