{"id":29107,"date":"2012-08-02T22:44:10","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T04:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/02\/protecting-the-health-insurance-companies.html"},"modified":"2012-08-14T09:34:49","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T15:34:49","slug":"protecting-the-health-insurance-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/02\/protecting-the-health-insurance-companies.html","title":{"rendered":"Protecting the Health Insurance Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two observations on Rep. Flake&#39;s comments:<\/p>\n<p>1. <i>&quot;If individuals are allowed to access health care services only when they are sick or injured, there is no reason for anyone to have insurance.&quot;<\/i> Yes, which is the reason for the individual mandate. \u00a0Did you miss the last couple of years, Congressman?<\/p>\n<p>2. <i>&quot;If insurance companies are required to accept all pre-existing conditions, insurance is no longer insurance.&quot;<\/i> True. Because insurance <i>is<\/i> no longer insurance &#8212; it is the entryway to any level of decent care. Without it, you&#39;re screwed, constantly calculating how bad things need to get before going to the doctor (or the ER). \u00a0Our medical system requires insurance to access, pre-existing conditions or not.<\/p>\n<p style='clear:both;'>\n<p style='margin-bottom:5px;'><strong>Embedded Link<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style='height:120px;width:120px;overflow:hidden;float:left;margin-top:0px;padding-top:0px;margin-right:10px;vertical-align:top;text-align:center;clear:both;'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img style='max-width:none;' src='https:\/\/images0-focus-opensocial.googleusercontent.com\/gadgets\/proxy?container=focus&#038;gadget=a&#038;resize_h=100&#038;url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkprogress.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F08%2FFlake_1335206280-300x200.jpg' border='0' \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/health\/2012\/08\/02\/628981\/flake-insurance-pre-existing-conditions\/'>GOP Rep: Protecting Insurers More Important Than Providing Coverage To The Sick<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jeff Flake (R), a sixth-term GOP congressman and current Arizona senate candidate, has confirmed he is not among the 82 percent of Americans who think insurance companies should be banned from de&#8230;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p style='clear:both;'> <strong>Google+:<\/strong> <a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101083456815352083930\/posts\/FhJJhEsXdEx' target='_new'>View post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two observations on Rep. Flake&#39;s comments: 1. &quot;If individuals are allowed to access health care services only when they are sick or injured, there is no reason for anyone to have insurance.&quot; Yes, which is the reason for the individual mandate. \u00a0Did you miss the last couple of years, Congressman? 2. &quot;If insurance companies are &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/02\/protecting-the-health-insurance-companies.html\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Protecting the Health Insurance Companies&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":133856,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/07\/15\/insurance-companies-hate-the-senate-health-insurance-bill-too.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":0},"title":"Insurance companies hate the Senate Health Insurance Bill, too","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 15-Jul-17 3:00pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Especially the Cruz Amendment. They even sent a letter to that effect to Senate GOP Leader, Mitch McConnell.\u275d \"It is simply unworkable in any form,\" the letter said. They said it would \"undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions,\" increase premiums and lead many to lose coverage. [...] The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":133408,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/06\/pre-aca-pre-existing-conditions.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":1},"title":"Pre-ACA Pre-Existing Conditions","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 6-May-17 9:26am","format":false,"excerpt":"The AHCA doesn't actually define (or limit) pre-existing conditions that states can opt out of. The list below was gleaned from lists of pre-existing conditions used before the ACA was passed to exclude folk from getting insurance, shuffling them into a (limited space, high-premium) high risk pool, jacking up premiums\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/17%2B-%2B1imgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/17%2B-%2B1imgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/17%2B-%2B1imgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138548,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/04\/03\/the-enduring-fantasy-of-trumps-bestest-ever-beautiful-gop-health-care-plan.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":2},"title":"The Enduring Fantasy of Trump&#8217;s Bestest Ever Beautiful GOP Health Care Plan","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 3-Apr-19 8:26pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Trump keeps magically saying he can give everyone better, cheaper, more-inclusive insurance. But he never shares the details.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Elections 2016&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2016","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2016"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/trump-2019-03.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/trump-2019-03.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/trump-2019-03.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/trump-2019-03.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133395,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/the-ahca-affects-not-just-individual-buyers-but-employee-health-plans-too.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":3},"title":"The AHCA affects not just individual buyers, but employee health plans, too","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 3-May-17 2:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking at the currently proposed state \"opt out\" provisions in the Republican health insurance reform, the Brookings Institution finds that it not only impacts individual insurance purchasers, but could have a significant impact on employer-provided health insurance as well, as employers and\/or health insurance companies seize on the \"least common\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27692,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/01\/the-problem-is-insurance-isnt-really-insurance-any-more.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":4},"title":"The problem is, insurance isn&#39;t really insurance any more","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 1-May-12 3:34pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Medical insurance is not a way to deal with the risk of outrageously expensive catastrophic medical needs. It's the way to deal with -- the only thing that still enables access to -- all our medical needs.Once upon a time, health insurance was a way of dealing with extraordinary medical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30488,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/05\/romneys-sick-joke-about-being-sick-and-getting-insurance.html","url_meta":{"origin":29107,"position":5},"title":"Romney&#39;s Sick Joke (about Being Sick and Getting Insurance)","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 5-Oct-12 8:45am","format":false,"excerpt":"Krugman takes Romney to righteous task for misleading debate viewers, once again, on what his \"plan\" would do regarding pre-existing conditions.'What Mr. Romney actually proposes is that Americans with pre-existing conditions who already have health coverage be allowed to keep that coverage even if they lose their job \u2014 as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}