Hillary Clinton's Mandatory Health Insurance Plan Is An Attack on the Middle Class, Group Says

The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights FTCR announced that it is 100 percent opposed to Senator Hillary Clinton's mandatory health insurance purchase plan. Senator Clinton has received over $1 million in campaign contributions from insurers for her presidential campaign and it certainly seems that this proposed policy is their "return payment" on their investment especially when the plan is offered as a solution for health care reform by a woman who used to be a proponent of socialized medicine in America.

The plan's mandatory requirement -- that every American purchase private insurance -- assures that the health insurance companies will stay in business, but it does not define how the average American middle class family will be able to afford the coverage. Clinton's plan does not in any way shape or form suggest a cap for premiums or regulate them. When it is considered that insurance coverage for a family of four costs approximately $12,000 per year, Jamie Court, President of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, defined the measure as an "attack on the middle class family." Health care reform is a necessity; however, it cannot be achieved when only viewing part of the picture as proposed by Clinton's plan. It is clear that a hard look needs aimed at the health care insurance industry. If they can make Clinton do an about face in her policy--just imagine how much power health insurer campaign contributions wield.

Insurance Companies Reap the Benefits

The FTCR notes that a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that the average cost of insurance coverage for a family of four is $12,000 per year. That total does not include payment of any required deductibles that could be an out-of-pocket expense up to $5,000. Plus, more insurance companies are keeping more premium dollars for profit causing them to rise even more at a rate of 250% faster than inflation rates. It was further cited in Kaiser's report that while health insurance premiums have increased 78% since 2001, wages have only increased by 19% and inflation by 17%.

Even with this plan not being in effect, insurance companies are reporting profit increases for the second quarter 2007. Wellpoint (parent company of Blue Cross of California) reported a profit increase of 11% over 2006, UnitedHealth profits are up 22%, Aetna profits up 27%, and Health Net's were up 23.1%.

Forced to Choose

A mandated health insurance requirement plan would guarantee more profits for health insurance companies and give them even more control over every American's health care. It would not in any way contribute to health care reform. If put into effect, middle class families would be put into the position of making a choice whether to pay their mortgage or rent or to pay their health insurance coverage.

It is worth noting that in 2005, more than half of all the bankruptcies filed were due to medical bills. One million Americans file bankruptcy each year citing medical bills and three-quarters of them already have medical insurance coverage. Many of them are working, have college degrees and own their own homes. If forced to purchase the required health insurance coverage under Clinton's plan, even more Americans might have to file bankruptcy. Or, they could be faced with being labeled a tax evader because they are in violation of the mandated requirement.

Between the years of 2001 and 2005, according to Weiss Ratings, the health insurance industry reported profits of $38 billion--enough to provide insurance for an entire year for 12 million Americans.

Source: http://prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-17-2007/0004664293&EDATE=