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Thursday, July 30, 2009
Boomer with Attitude / News Obama smacks health insurers
Posted By John Grooms on Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 11:12 AM
- Your money AND your life: Blue Cross CEO Bob Greczyn
President Obama held a town hall-style meeting in Raleigh yesterday before 2200 people, drumming up support for his health care reform effort. He finally took off the gloves regarding the health insurance companies who currently dominate the timing and pricing of health care delivery in the United States. That would be the same industry that denies coverage to people with pre-existing conditions which, in any country that respects its own citizens, would land insurance execs in jail. But no. Not here.
Anyhow, Obama said he wanted to be sure “that those who have insurance are treated fairly, and insurance companies are held accountable.” Reasonable goals that everyone can agree on, right? Oh, hell no. Bob Greczyn, the $4 million-per-year CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (which has become a main mover in national anti-reform efforts), said he was disappointed that Obama “used so much of his time in North Carolina bashing insurance companies.” Well, guess what, Bob? There are 2 million people in North Carolina who are “disappointed” that you won’t insure them. People like Raleigh’s Jerry Thompson, a Vietnam vet and 30-year state employee who, because of a chronic disease, is on the verge of going bankrupt because of medical bills. Add any number of people whose equally horrific stories you’ve heard — then think about the $1.3 billion in reserves held by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina — and, as they say, do the math.
Our favorite part of Obama’s meeting was when he attacked the incredible pile of, um, lies being spread by reform opponents. “Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care,” the President said. “I'm tired of hearing that. I have been as clear as I can be. Under the reform I've proposed, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you keep your health care plan. These folks need to stop scaring everybody.”
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