Sanders revs up ‘public option’ fight after Aetna leaves ObamaCare

[rasbridge]

Sanders revs up ‘public option’ fight after Aetna leaves ObamaCare

 

By Sarah Ferris - 08/16/16 05:11 PM EDT

 

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders revs up ‘public option’ fight after Aetna leaves ObamaCareClinton reaches out to millennials in op-edPro-Sanders group endorses ClintonMORE (I-Vt.) and other healthcare reform advocates are revving up their push for a “public option” after Aetna’s retreat from the ObamaCare marketplace this week.

 

Sanders on Tuesday vowed to bring back debate on a government-run insurance option, one day after the nation’s third-largest insurer announced a major pullback from the exchanges.

 

The senator said he will reintroduce his legislation to create a “Medicare-for-all” system in the next session of the Senate, “hopefully” after Democrats regain control of the chamber.

 

“In my view, the provision of healthcare cannot continue to be dependent upon the whims and market projections of large private insurance companies whose only goal is to make as much profit as possible,” Sanders said in a statement Tuesday.

 

“That is why we need to join every other major country on earth and guarantee health care to all as a right, not a privilege,” he said.

 

Aetna announced late Monday it would pull out of ObamaCare exchanges in 11 states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas. The company’s CEO, Mark Bertolini, cited $200 million in losses over the past few months as a major reason for the move.

 

The insurer’s high-profile departure is a major blow to the law. Still, longtime public option proponents believe they have a new opportunity to take aim at the healthcare law's heavy reliance on insurers for coverage.

 

Sanders, who battled Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonEarly voting gives Trump less time to court votersOmarosa: Critics will have to 'bow down' to President TrumpThe Trail 2016: Clinton’s ups and downsMORE in a close Democratic presidential primary before conceding last month, has long fought for a government-run insurance plan, which he says would wrest healthcare coverage out of the control of private insurers.

 

In his statement Tuesday, Sanders slammed insurers like Aetna for pulling out of the exchanges “despite the Affordable Care Act bringing them millions more paying customers than ever before.”

 

“These companies are more concerned with making huge profits than ensuring access to healthcare for all Americans,” he said.

Liberal Democrats have been increasingly vocal about the need for a public option push next year, with growing hopes that Clinton will win the White House and Democrats will take back the Senate.

 

Sanders is hoping to become chairman of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which would give him a high podium in a healthcare fight.

 

Still, the fight would be taxing for a Democratic Party that has painful memories about the ObamaCare battle in 2009 and 2010. The fight over the law — which passed without any Republicans — was a key factor in the GOP wave the 2010 election cycle, costing the Democrats their majority in the House.

 

Source:  http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/291644-bernie-sanders-sees-new-life-in-public-option-fight

[luisam]

On 16/8/2016 at 7:39 PM, rasbridge said:

“In my view, the provision of healthcare cannot continue to be dependent upon the whims and market projections of large private insurance companies whose only goal is to make as much profit as possible,” Sanders said in a statement Tuesday

 

A Government should provide a public healthcare option for those who can't afford to pay for it, at taxpayers' expense but you shoudn't expect it from any private insurance company.

The goal of any company is to make profit so it may continue existing. If a company is not generating a profit, sooner or later it will go bankrupt. Government may rescue a bankrupt company, again. at taxpayers' expense but only if it should have expectations to recover. To recover a bankrupt insurance company it should have profits!

 

So, Sander's embellished but typically socialist statement tries to make believe that a commercial activity (like insurance) can, or even, should subsist without rendering a profit and that simply is not possible.

 

[humble3d]

Some Aetna policy holders allege that Aetna is so rich because they don't pay many claims...

Does your insurance pay up ?

 

[vitorio]

Aetna loss? Just accounting trick numbers!!!

[mikie]

Health Care insurance sucks but we need health care.  I'm all for usa gov health care.  You retire in usa and instantly get Social Security and they instantly deduct over 100 dollars for insurance.  Yet its sucky insurance that doesn't want you to get health care and will cancel you if you end up in the hospital.