Democratic state lawmakers admit lobbyists helped write their op-eds attacking Medicare-for-All

[BeyondGeography]

Lobbyists either helped draft or made extensive revisions to opinion columns published by three state lawmakers in a way that warned against the dangers of Medicare-for-all and other government involvement in health care, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post.

Montana state Rep. Kathy Kelker (D) and Sen. Jen Gross (D) acknowledged in interviews that editorials they published separately about the single-payer health proposal included language provided by John MacDonald, a lobbyist and consultant in the state who disclosed in private emails that he worked for an unnamed client. Gross said MacDonald contacted her on behalf of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a multimillion-dollar industry group founded in 2018 and funded by hospitals, private insurers, drug companies, and other private health-care firms.

Additionally, an aide to Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman (R) confirmed in a brief interview that the lawmaker’s op-ed criticizing Medicare-for-all was written with the help of Kathleen DeLand, an Ohio-based lobbyist. None of the lawmakers’ columns disclose that they were written with the help of a lobbyist.

The emails show how, even at the state and local levels, lobbyists are trying to bend public opinion away from an idea that has seized much of the debate during the current Democratic presidential primary. Two candidates, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.), have proposed a massive redesign of the health-care system that would place all Americans on a single government health insurer...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/12/02/state-lawmakers-acknowledge-lobbyists-helped-craft-their-op-eds-attacking-medicare-for-all/

[RainCaster]

1. They are so lazy- letting their names be used by the enemy

It could be time for a replacement or two in MT.

[BeckyDem]

2. Disgusting.

[MarcA]

3. Says a lot about $$$ and their it-can't-be-done quislings. n/t

[LonePirate]

4. I'm shocked - SHOCKED - that Dems would peddle industry talking points against MFA.

Actually, I am shocked they admitted it as the health industry will use any tactic imaginable to fight against MFA. The torrent of lies and propaganda coming in the years ahead from the health industry will be like nothing we have ever seen before.

I wonder who will be the next one to make a similar admission about using industry talking points.

[ancianita]

5. Now THAT there is evil. Montana and Ohio, seriously?

[TidalWave46]

6. And I'm sure lobbyists helped to write the M4A bill.

Lobbyists, the least understood and most important part of a functioning democracy.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Let us now shed a tear for the humble, misunderstood for-profit health care lobbyist

[Autumn]

8. I can't shed a tear but I do feel an urge to...use the restroom.

[BeyondGeography]

9. And the funny part is

Moderates who think it won't happen to them:

Link to tweet

[Celerity]

16. Oh yes, and this is why I have said that even the Pubic Option has little to no chance of passing,

let alone MFA.

Biden in Cross Hairs of the Partnership for America's Healthcare Future

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287207761


one of my replies

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287207761#post9

This group Partnership for America's Healthcare Future is partially backed by Blue Cross/Blue Shield and AHIP, (America's Health Insurance Plans), who spent over 100 million USD in the last 14 months (prior to it's passage) trying to defeat the ACA and ever since then have vowed they will do the same to quash the public option.


Here is a direct quote from the OP's link

“Unfortunately, Vice President Biden’s proposal for a new government insurance system through a ‘public option’ would undermine the progress our nation has made and ultimately lead our nation down the path of a one-size-fits-all health care system run by Washington. From driving up premiums in the private market, to threatening our nation’s already at-risk hospitals, to diminishing Americans’ access to the quality care they need, research warns that such an approach could be disastrous for patients and consumers.”

The institutional power players are staunchly against even the slightest diminution of their extractive abilities within the for-profit health care matrix. The public option is a massive threat to them.

The co-chair of Biden's kick-off giant fundraiser in Philadelphia (at David Cohen's, the Comcast executive, home) was Daniel Hilferty, the Independence Blue Cross CEO and an executive director of AHIP. He was a key driver against the ACA, and now is helping lead the charge against the public option (not to mention he is obviously against MFA as well, which is not my preferred thing anyway).

Hilferty is bad news, and is just hedging his bets with Biden, as he almost always gives mostly to Rethugs like McTurtle. I am absolutely sure Hilferty will pop a 5000 USD bottle of some rare vintage of Dom Pérignon or other champagne if/when the SCOTUS invalidates all of the ACA, especially the pre-existing conditions clause. Biden should really disown him publicly, and anyone affiliated with Partnership for America's Healthcare Future and AHIP. It is a really bad look IMHO to have them involved to a point where he (I do not know about others) was a fundraising co-chair.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190503175136/https:/twitter.com/hollyotterbein/status/1121232294801547265



https://web.archive.org/web/20190503222233/https:/twitter.com/hollyotterbein/status/1121203315067490306




As Dems debate Medicare for All, a less radical idea stalls in blue states

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/08/health-care-blue-states-1308730

This was supposed to be the year blue states created government-run health insurance plans, after health care-fueled midterm election victories.

But legislation around the country to craft a so-called public option — a longtime progressive goal — has stalled over political and financial roadblocks, underscoring the challenge of creating coverage expansions even less comprehensive than the "Medicare for All" plan championed by Democratic presidential contenders and progressives in Congress.

Legislative proposals in New Mexico, Nevada and other states to set up a public option to give people more choices — and insurers more competition — have been watered down or shelved as lawmakers struggle to design affordable plans building on Obamacare. And multiple Democratic governors who backed the idea during their campaigns haven’t pushed it since taking office.

“When you’re dealing with a new issue — and this is a new idea — the biggest problem around the idea is one of cost," said former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat. "Where is the money going to come from? And obviously every politician is concerned about that, rightfully so."

The public option has appeal among some moderate Democratic officials hoping to harness the base’s energetic support for Medicare for All in the 2020 elections — while skirting the political risk of embracing the full single-payer overhaul that Republicans decry as socialism. Democrats who have embraced less radical overhauls hoped to leverage the party’s newfound advantage on health care to make progress toward universal coverage this year while contrasting it with Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare.

snip

There already are troubling signs that the 2009 tactics (where the public option was taken off the table due to immense pressure from the lobbyists) are being baked in the cake yet again.

At Biden's first major campaign fundraiser, in Philadelphia a few weeks back, one of the co-hosts was Daniel Hilferty.

Daniel Hilferty is the CEO of Independence Blue Cross. He is on the board of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association working to defeat the progressive push for Medicare for All. In national politics, Hilftery has exclusively donated to Republicans this year, records show. The health insurance executive gave $5,000 to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., along with smaller donations to other congressional Republicans (see below).

https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2020&contributor_name=Hilferty%2C+Daniel+&min_date=01%2F01%2F2019&max_date=12%2F31%2F2020





Hilferty's group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), pumped in $102 million in 14 months to try and block Obamacare, now they are doing the same with MFA and even the much milder buy-in option.


Health Care Insurers Spent $100 Million To Defeat Obamacare


https://www.democraticunderground.com/1002805314

As the Supreme Court readies to announce their decision on the individual mandate portion of the health reform, it has emerged that the largest health care lobbying group in the country spent a total of $102.4 million in just 15 months to prevent Obamacare from becoming law in the first place.

In 2009 alone, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) pumped $86.2 million into a conservative lobbying group, the US Chamber of Commerce, to combat President Obama’s health care reform plan. But with the added months of 2010 prior to the ACA’s March passage, AHIP piled on an additional $16 million to be used against the bill.

That staggering total, which the National Journal’s Influence Alley uncovered today, was not out in the open — rather, the funds were transferred through a secretive process and listed only by the organization as ‘advocacy’ spending:

The backchannel spending allowed insurers to publicly stake out a pro-reform position while privately funding the leading anti-reform lobbying group in Washington. The chamber spent tens of millions of dollars bankrolling efforts to kill health care reform.


more at link
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/06/13/499093/health-care-insurers-spent-100-million-to-combat-the-affordable-care-act/




https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&q=daniel+hilferty&sort=D&type=donors







They are still at it (trying to destroy the public option)


AHIP mobilizes industry opposition to public option (2016 efforts)

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/ahip-mobilizes-industry-opposition-to-public-option/426659/


Dive Brief:

The leading health insurance industry trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), launched an effort last week to mobilize members against the growing push for a public option, which would create a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private plans on the ACA exchanges.

AHIP's action alert last week asked its members to contact Senate offices and provided a list of talking points to assist in arguments against the public option, The Huffington Post reported.

The move came within hours of the introduction of a resolution by 27 Senate Democrats, led by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, calling for the public option--an idea that President Barack Obama and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have also recently joined forces to support.

Dive Insight:

AHIP's swift action suggests the group sees the groundswell of support for a public option from legislators and advocates as a real threat. The concept has essentially come back from the dead after raising major debate during the crafting of the ACA, but subsequently being left out of the health law due to concerns among lawmakers, including some liberals, as well as opposition from industry groups.

snip


2019


Partnership Statement On Introduction Of Senate Medicare-X Legislation A Public Option Would Restrict Patient Choice of Plans and Access to Care

https://americashealthcarefuture.org/partnership-statement-on-introduction-of-senate-medicare-x-legislation/


ICYMI: “Medicare Buy-In, Public Option Proposals Would Harm Our Health Care System”

https://americashealthcarefuture.org/icymi-medicare-buy-in-public-option-proposals-would-harm-our-health-care-system/


they also will fight to stop the US government from having the ability to negotiate lower drug prices


A BITTER PILL: HOW BIG PHARMA LOBBIES TO KEEP PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES HIGH

https://www.citizensforethics.org/a-bitter-pill-how-big-pharma-lobbies-to-keep-prescription-drug-prices-high/



PARTNERSHIP FOR AMERICA’S HEALTH CARE FUTURE.

https://americashealthcarefuture.org/about-us/

[BeyondGeography]

18. There you have it

Excellent, if disheartening, post. We aren’t going to get anywhere as a party until we unify on the question of money and influence. We need an overhaul not just on campaign finance but also to strengthen government so it can afford to hire and retain its own experts who have the public interest in mind (which Warren has proposed as part of her lobbying tax plan https://www.vox.com/2019/10/2/20893854/elizabeth-warrens-anti-corruption-lobbying-tax ). Let them help state reps. write their press releases, eg. We have mountains to climb but it will only happen if we do it together.

[Celerity]

21. under the current system, total healthcare expenditures for the 10 years starting next year will be

52.5 (per one of the main architects of the ACA on MSNBC a month ago or so) to 57 trillion USD at current rates of increase (that counts all monies, public and private, spent, including pharma), over the the next 20 years, at current rates, well over 125 to 130 trillion (or more) USD. That also assumes that the current system remains intact, which it likely will not, if the SCOTUS invalidates the ACA next year. If it is struct down, the rates of increase will more than likely be even higher.

That is unsustainable, but even at SMALL margins of profits, that is trillions of profits at stake. The systemic controllers will do ANYTHING to not give that multi-trillion dollar skim up. It is going to take a systemic crash to get it sorted.


I had some gaslighter awhile back try and tell me that there were no major profits being made in the US healthcare system.



The US healthcare system is one giant wealth extraction scheme. At current rates of increase we are going to be spending close to 6 trillion USD per year by 2027, 2028. That is madness.

In the past 10 years, we have spent around 33 trillion dollars. ONE health insurance firm alone (UnitedHealth Group) has made over 66 billion dollars in net profits over that time span, 12 billion USD in 2018 alone, 22.5 billion in the last 2 years, and are on track to make 150-160 (or more as scales of economy will act as multipliers) billion USD combined net PROFIT between 2019 and 2028. That is RAPACIOUS, and it is mostly skimmed off via the middleman role of for-profit INSURANCE and other profit centres as they continue to horizontally and vertically expand.

Look at the massive difference between what the US spends per capita versus the rest of the nations, and the gap is only going to get larger. This chart is already out of date BTW, we are already above the 2017 rates per capita.



Again, the only way this system gets fixed, given the current political/structural landscape is IMHO more than likely via partial systemic collapse, as there is simply no way this rate of cost/profit increase can continue decade after decade. The ACA cost increases where back-loaded to kick in starting around 2017 or so and forward. That year is when, for example, United Health's profits exploded. Citizens United and other endemic factors have opened the spigot to the raw buying and regulatory capture of our entire political/governmental superstructure by Big Healthcare, Big Pharma, and Big Insurance. That is only being exacerbated under the odious Trump administration's deregulatory schemes, which if they get their big 'win' at SCOTUS level and the entire ACA is trashed, will expedite this entire situation even more timeframe-wise towards a catastrophic outcome.

[TidalWave46]

11. I wouldn't cry.

Seems like a strange time for it.

[aidbo]

10. least understood and least important, huh?

[TidalWave46]

12. Thank you.

Left an important word out.

[BeyondGeography]

13. More on this from WaPo: Why the health-care industry wants to destroy any Democratic reform

...Here’s one of the most important things to understand about these interests: They despise “moderate” reform as much as they do Medicare-for-all. There are reasons the kind of expansive public-option plan being offered by Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg is more politically practical than single-payer, but opposition from industry is not one of them. Just look, for instance, at this ad from the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, in which actors doing their best worried faces say, “Politicians may call it Medicare-for-all, Medicare buy-in or the public option, but they mean the same thing: higher taxes or higher premiums, lower quality care, politicians and bureaucrats in control of our care.”

Although a single-payer system obviously presents the greatest threat to their profits, their belief is that any reform that allows large numbers of people to move on to government programs makes genuine cost control more likely, and that’s what they want to avoid.

In what may be the most revealing moment in the article showing consultants associated with the Partnership crafting op-eds for state legislators, the consultant “removed three paragraphs from a draft of Kelker’s op-ed that pointed out that the United States 'clearly spends significantly more on health care per capita than other developed nations.’” This is one of the most important facts about our health-care problem, but it’s the last thing the Partnership and its backers want anyone thinking about. Why? Because if you start cutting costs, they make less money.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/02/why-health-care-industry-wants-destroy-any-democratic-reform/

[redqueen]

14. Yep - they'll fight anything that threatens profits.

Whether a lot or a little, doesn't matter.

[Celerity]

17. +100000

[Blue_true]

15. I am trully disappointed that two democrats allowed themselves to be sucked in to that.

Really disappointed, I hope democrats in their state are also because they don't seem to carry our banner well.

[jalan48]

19. It's difficult for Democrats in our modern Corporate State. They need to convince the people they

are working for their interests while at the same time satisfying the the needs of the big corporations. Republicans on the other hand, just admit they are Representatives of the Corporate State and tell their followers the Corporate State is the best system possible.

[BeyondGeography]

20. Spot on

I think we need to choose a side. We're going to have to sooner or later. It's not as if the present arrangement of forces is working out so well for the vast majority of people.

The Ghost of Reagan looms over all of this. "Government is the problem," is still winning. Until we commit to selling "government is the solution" effectively (and everything that goes along with that, ie rejecting corporate money and influence over public policy) we will struggle to do more than can kicking.

[Celerity]

22. one of the biggest systemic issues is

Wedge issues, combined with the obliteration of truth and the unleashing of raw hate and aggression at most all surface levels (as well as the always-present deep current manifestations) that is now occurring under the Trumpian paradigm may synergistically work in unison to make the current structural problems intractable for decades.

[BeyondGeography]

23. When the screw job gets so bad, crazy good things can happen though

Like whoever thought rampant corruption at the top and economic populism could bring all factions of Islam plus Christians together in Lebanon?:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/opinion/lebanon-protests.html