How do you do smart, funny progressive propaganda? Like this:
And that’s pretty damn impressive considering how hard it’s becoming to parody insurance companies.
Take the letter America’s Health Insurance Plans’ President and CEO Karen Ignagni sent to Max Baucus. Among other requests, Think Progress explains, the insurance companies said, we really, really need to keep shutting folks out of insurance:
“This means that benefit packages should give consumers flexible options to meet diverse needs and be aligned with the level of premium subsidies provided by Congress, and that the coverage requirement needs to avoid creating incentives for healthy people to forego the purchase of coverage,” Ignagni writes. The letter also expresses concerns about the new national benefit standards.In other words, insurers want to design packages that attract healthier applicants and deter “enrollment by those in poorer health.” “For example, insurers could offer a benefits design that omits or severely limits services needed by people with serious medical conditions, while offering richer benefits in other areas such as vision care or health-club memberships.”
But don’t cut insurance company Medicare subsidies!
The Baucus bill would eliminate the 13% overpayment to private insurance plans that provide Medicare-like benefits at a higher rate, without improving quality. Under the bill, private insurers would have to submit to a competitive bidding process. “We have strong concerns about the proposed funding cuts in Medicare Advantage,” Ignagni wrote.
Oy.
