Today in Washington, D.C. - Mar 9, 2010 - Obama's New Attacks On Insurers Same As Old

The Senate resumed consideration of H.R. 4213, the tax extenders bill. The bill extends a number of expired tax credits and unemployment insurance, among many other things. Unfortunately, it pays for none of this and simply adds $100 billion to the debt. The Senate is scheduled to begin a series of votes on amendments to the bill. At 2:30 PM, there will be a cloture vote on the Baucus substitute amendment which includes the unpaid for unemployment insurance extension.

In his latest rally for his unpopular health care reform bill yesterday, President Obama launched familiar attacks on insurance companies. According to The Washington Post, “The messages are part of a strategy that Obama and those around him have begun to employ lately, to ratchet up the pace and the populist appeal of their rhetoric against the health insurance industry.”

But there’s nothing new at all about this rhetoric. In fact, last July, the same newspaper, The Washington Post, reported, “President Obama has framed the health-care debate in Washington as a campaign against insurance companies . . . .” At the time, The Post wrote, “The message is no accident, as the president’s chief pollster made clear in a rare public speech last month. Joel Benenson told the Economic Club of Canada that extensive polling revealed to the White House what many there had guessed: People hate insurance companies.”

And so Democrats and President Obama have made sure to make health insurers the focus of their ire for months. Less than a week after the Washington Post story, NPR ran a story headlined, “Democrats Attack Health Insurance Industry.” Ten days later, a Reuters story was titled, “Obama says insurance companies holding U.S. hostage.” October 12^th, in USA Today: “Obama and the insurance industry, daggers drawn over health care bill.” Reuters, October 17^th: Obama: health insurers ‘deceptive and dishonest.’” And on December 19^th, The Hill reported, “Obama slams insurance industry going into health reform’s home stretch.”

Has any of this changed the debate? Apparently not, considering the New York Times/CBS News poll. In July 2009, 46% approved of Obama’s handling of health care, while 38% disapproved. The February 2010 NYT/CBS poll found that 35% approved of Obama’s handling of health care, while 55% disapproved, a 20 point gap. The whole time the president spent attacking insurance companies, his approval on health care dropped 11 points, while his disapproval rose 17 points.

Of course, all of this rhetoric about insurance companies is intended to distract from the core reasons Americans dislike Democrats’ health care plan: it’s a $2.5 trillion takeover of 1/6^th of the economy at a time of soaring debt that features half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts, half a trillion dollars in tax increases, does nothing to control costs, and is likely to result in higher insurance premiums.

And yet, as Democrats attack “greedy” insurance companies, they’re overlooking something important about the Senate health care bill. ABC News pointed out last night, “To help pay for the new insurance requirements the government would give to people money to buy insurance - $336 billion over the next ten years. That money, ultimately, would have to go to... drum roll... insurance companies.” So for all their dislike of insurance companies, Democrats have designed a bill that sends money directly to them, something President Obama criticized John McCain for in 2008.

Denunciations of insurance companies from the White House and Democrats in Congress may sound good to some, but in reality the rhetoric is old hat, has done almost nothing to change the debate, and is undermined by provisions in the bill Obama is attempting to sell. Americans aren’t interested in more rhetoric and ever-shifting rationales for passing this 2,700 page $2.5 trillion monstrosity of a health care bill. Americans want Congress to scrap this bill and start over.

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