Crossposted at Daily Kos
Senate negotiators have decided not to include a provision revoking the insurance industry’s anti-trust exemption in the bill leadership sends to the floor, said a Democratic aide close to the merger talks. Instead, the measure will be offered as an amendment on the Senate floor.
Bold and italics added by the diarist
The House bill will have language ending the Insurance cartels anti-trust exemption. Why won’t the Senate bill have similar language in it before it is brought to the floor for debate?
More below the fold
Hat tip to Kossack Lizard People, who wrote about this late last night.
If both the House and the Senate contained the anti trust ending language before the bills are brought to the floors of their respective legislative bodies, ending the anti trust exemption for the insurance cartels would be a sure thing barring the total defeat of health care legislation.
By not placing the anti-trust ending language in the Senate bill, Senate Majority Leaner Harry Reid (Jellyfish-NV) puts it at risk, since Senate Republicans are certain to say NO! in unison and a number of Senate Dems could join them to defeat such an amendment.
Ahhh, Shamocracy! Ain’t it grand?
Huffington Post reporter Ryan Grim, sensing that Joe Lieberman would maybe have some idea why any Senator might oppose ending the insurance cartels anti-trust exemption, solicited this reply to what could undoubtably be any number of questions.
“I’m not here to defend the health insurance industry,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman (Insurance-Conn.) on Tuesday, while explaining why he opposed a public health insurance option. “I’m open to supporting the removal of the antitrust exemption for the insurance industry. I’m prepared to support it. I don’t want to be cute with my words. I will support it if it comes up.”
Bold, italics and snark added by the diarist
If you believe any of what Joe Lieberman says, well, you are in the wrong business if you are a political reporter, I’ll say that much. No disrepect to Ryan Grim, but he would have gotten a more credible source if he had asked the ballon boys parents their opinion instead.
Why would Harry Reid do this? Why would he choose to not include the language that would end the insurance cartels anti-trust exemption before the bill goes to the Senate floor? Why risk having it voted down as an amendment instead? If the Senate bill does not include the language that would end the insurance cartels anti-trust exemption, it is conceivable that the House version of the language might be removed too once the bills are merged in conference, barring the chance that Joe Lieberman gets the chance to kill Health Care reform before it even gets there.
Wait, I think I answered my own question.
Please call your Senator and demand that they vote to end the insurance cartels Anti-Trust Exemption.
Of course, no one is arguing that Harry Reid is an effective leader. If he was, Joe Lieberman would be threatened with exile form the Democratic Caucus and 60 votes for Cloture would be a sure thing, but the fact that Reid can’t even get it together for something as simple and popular as this is, well, Reidian. I want to see Reid’s birth certificate. I think his parents were squid.
The fact is that there is NO good reason to allow the insurance cartels to keep their anti-trust exemption, and I can not imagine why Senate Majority Leaner Harry Reid did NOT include this language in the Senate bill before it goes to the floor for debate. If you were trying to convince me that our Government REFUSES to do ANYTHING that would hurt Corproate profits no matter how badly those Corporations hurt American families, this is just the way to do it.
Since this will come down to an Amendment vote on the Senate floor, lets make sure our Senators know where we stand on this issue. If American families aren’t Too Big To Fail neither should the insurance cartels. Maybe, just maybe, the insurance industry deserves to be punished.
American families have been punished enough by the insurance cartels, and we have paid with our life savings and in the blood of our loved ones. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.
Also crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com
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The only Monopolies in America should be sold in boxes by the Parker Bros.