A Repost: HUGE Red Flag Endorsement for Kathleen Sebelius for HHS

[debbierlus]

A Huge Red Flag Endorsment for Kathleen Sebelius for HHS -
Posted by debbierlus in General Discussion: Presidential
Thu Feb 19th 2009, 08:16 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/us/polit...

If you read the above article, you will come to this endorsement:

‘Karen M. Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, said Ms. Sebelius would be “a very smart choice” for health secretary’…

So, who is America’s Health Insurance Plans & who is Karen Ignagni?

Here is the Wiki on America’s Health Insurance Plans.

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is a national political advocacy and trade association with about 1,300 member companies that sell health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans.<1> AHIP was formed through the merger of Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and American Association of Health Plans (AAHP).<2><3><4><5> AAHP was formed through a merger between two Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) trade associations, Group Health Association of America and American Managed Care and Review Association.
I
n 2006, AHIP spent over 7 million dollars on lobbying,<6> and its 2005 television ad "Shark Bait" drew harsh criticism for its claim that "lawsuit abuse" by American trial lawyers cost the typical American family $1,200 a year.<7>

The AHIP Center for Policy and Research is the trade association's research arm.<8> The center publishes research on a variety of forms of private health insurance, often based on survey data gathered from AHIP member companies. The forms of insurance studied include disability income and long-term care insurance as well as different types of medical expense insurance.

And, who is Karen Ignagni, again - here is the rest of the wiki entry….

AHIP President Karen M. Ignagni<9> frequently serves as a spokesperson for the views of the insurance industry,<10> recently taping an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show opposite Michael Moore to discuss Sicko.<11> In response to a past statement by Senator Hillary Clinton that insurance companies "spend tens of billions of dollars a year figuring out how not to cover people" and "how to cherry-pick the healthiest persons, and leave everyone else out in the cold", Ignagni asserted the AHIP endorses the goal of universal coverage, that insurers deny only 3 percent of claims, and that many of those are for experimental procedures that employers do not cover.<12>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%E2%80...

I don’t know about you, but it is a HUGE glaring bright blood red flag to have the woman who debated against universal single payer health care, and President of the political lobby for the health insurance industry praising this choice.

Democrats need to get on the same page with this one. We need a single payer universal health care system. Mandatory health insurance is not health care. It doesn’t give equal coverage. And, it doesn’t address the profiteering of the health insurance industry. I live in MA (the blueprint for mandatory health insurance), and our state plan will be financially insolvent in two years as the cost will DOUBLE to implement in the next three years.

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles... /

Here is a excellent source to understand the MA system:

http://www.healthcare-now.org/wp-content/u...

We need universal single payer health plan. Period. It is the plan supported by the majority of physicians, nurses, and health care workers in this country. It is the plan that makes the most sense. We must fight for this now.

Flame me all you want. But as a nurse for over 15 years, a long time advocate for universal single payer health care, and a former member of every nursing league and honors society there is - I will stand on my experience & knowledge. A person who garners recommendations from the health insurance companies is not someone who I feel good about, and I hope the liberal/progressives can unite around fighting for a universal single payer system even though Obama wants universal insurance not care. I will update you on the inside scoop of how Massachusetts was scammed by the insurers in a coming post....

Say it together....Single Payer Health Care - Equal Coverage - Equal Access - True Health Care for All