The best Senate money can buy

Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

The share prices of the pharmaceutical and health insurance sectors were all in positive territory during Monday trading despite the passage of health care legislation in the House of Representatives that would dramatically curtain profits to these two sectors of the health care industry.

The House legislation would create a public option likely to place severe pressure on health insurance company profits. The bill would further permit the federal government to negotiate greatly improved deals for Medicare and Medicaid patients at a dramatic cost to the pharmaceutical industry.

So, why are investors in these industries so happy?

Because they know they are in control of the best Senate money can buy.

Let’s begin with Senator Joe Lieberman, Independent of Connecticut and the most dangerous man to the chances for meaningful health care reform in the U.S. Senate.

As you no doubt know by now, Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, has threatened to vote with the Republicans to filibuster any health care bill that includes a public option. This, despite the fact that a September Quinnipac Poll taken in Lieberman’s home state reveals that 64 percent of his constituents say they favor a public option. That number includes 88 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of Independents and 28 percent of Republicans.

But it seems that Lieberman doesn’t think much of the collective intellect of the people who sent him to the Senate, which could explain his decision to turn his back on their judgment. Check out what the Senator had to say in an interview with New Haven, Connecticut television station, WTNH:

You know, I think there actually is a lot of misunderstanding about the public option. I think a lot of people think the public option is going to provide free, or really low cost insurance. It’s not. And because it’s going to be another government entitlement program it will add to taxes, it will increase premiums to people who have insurance now and it will add to the national debt and make it a lot harder to save the great health insurance entitlement program we have now, which is Medicare,” Lieberman responded.
Via WTNH-TV

Nice. Senator Joe apparently believes that the people in Connecticut are dumb enough to expect that the public option will provide them with free health insurance coverage.

Could it be a coincidence that Lieberman’s conscientious objection, as stated in the above quote, matches the precise argument made by the insurance companies who are battling the public option? Maybe not, considering that the insurance industry happens to be the largest employer in the State of Connecticut and a huge contributor to Lieberman’s campaign coffers.

And should we take notice of the fact that Lieberman has been a leading supporter of spending trillions of dollars on foreign wars that, from almost all perspectives, offer very little in the way of tangible benefit to either his constituents or the nation as a whole? It’s nice to know that Senator Lieberman has his priorities straight.

Apparently, trillions in war appropriations will not harm the nation’s financial prospects but spending under a trillion, over ten years, on health care will drive the country into bankruptcy. Maybe I should move to Connecticut because I too fail to possess sufficient brain power to understand how this math works out.

It doesn’t take much of a stretch to see that Lieberman’s position stands to gain the votes of 65,000 insurance workers in Connecticut. In a state of 1.95 million registered voters, that’s a healthy little chunk of support. And then there is the eternal gratitude of some of the largest political contributors in the nation. Imagine what they will owe Sen. Lieberman if he becomes ‘the man who blocked health care reform.’

Of course, we can’t discuss this topic without giving a mention to another prominent opponent of health care reform, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana). This is a man who owes in excess of 25% of his personal fortune to the money paid to Mrs. Evan Bayh, a director of Wellpoint - the nation’s largest for-profit health insurance company. As discussed in many posts here at The Page, Mrs. Bayh has earned in excess of $2 million dollars from Wellpoint since she was appointed to the board (a post awarded her after the election of her husband to the Senate) and stands to gain quite a bit more in the years to come based on the stock options she currently holds.

These cases are just the tip of the iceberg. The Senate has been bought and paid for by these special interests and proponents of meaningful reform must face this reality.

The victory in the House made for a pleasant weekend, but meaningful health care reform continues to hang by a thread. So, keep those cards and letters flowing – especially if you live in Connecticut or Indiana…or Iowa…or Montana….or Louisiana…or Arkansas…