A Close Look at the 'Corporate Option'

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Latest Posts

POETRY

On Growing (older, that is) two poems Bob Markey (Feb 22, 2010)
Postcard of an Artist, Shilo Bleau Drott two poems Gerald McBreen (Feb 22, 2010)

CULTURE

Delete the Meat One might become a vegetarian account by John F. Baker, poem by Steve Hood, and cartoon by John Jonik (Feb 22, 2010)
Anvils: An Appreciation essay and photos by Robert Pavlik (Jan 24, 2010)

AROUND WASHINGTON

Liquor stores, Tea Party, Link Transit, etc. featuring cartoons by Dan McConnell (Feb 21, 2009)

TECHNOLOGY

Reinventing Fire The story of Solar Smelters International Martin Nix (Feb 21, 2010)

ECONOMY

The Washington State Bank? It might jump start the economy Linda Boyd (Feb 21, 2010)
Reagan’s Tax Fairness Surprise Restore the progressive capital gains tax Gerald E. Scorse (Feb 21, 2010)
Dollars for Death, Pennies for Life Norman Solomon, cartoon by Dan McConnell (Feb 21, 2010)

LAW

Suing Ronald Reagan An uphill battle by a novice lawyer John Merriam (Feb 21, 2010)
Corporate Personhood: An Update "If Corporations Were People..." David Swanson et al., cartoons by John Ambrosavage (Feb 21, 2010)

HISTORY

History of International Women's Day The first celebration was a century ago this year Megan Cornish (Feb 21, 2010)

ENVIRONMENT

Seattle Passes Junkmail Resolution ForestEthics, cartoon by John Jonik (Feb 21, 2010)

MILITARY

Why I Do It Resisting Trident for Love and Life Lynne Greenwald (Feb 20, 2010)

TRUTH

Architects and Engineers Ask for New Look at 9/11 Doug Collins (Feb 20, 2010)

POLITICS

Democrats Boosting Right-Wing Populism It's the cause of the health reform fiasco Norman Solomon, cartoon by Dan McConnell (Jan 24, 2010)

MEDIA

Is Olympic Coverage Sexist? Media coverage rarely gives women equal treatment Univ. of Alberta (Jan 24, 2010)

IMMIGRATION

Hundreds Join Everett March for Immigration Reform OneAmerica (Jan 24, 2010)

MEDICINE

Kill The Bill Universal healthcare turns out to be a universal nightmare Janice Van Cleve (Dec 17, 2009)
A Close Look at the 'Corporate Option' Ten reasons why mandatory private health insurance is an awful idea John Jonik (Nov 6, 2009)

RIGHT BRAIN

Why I Don't Come at Christmas Anymore not-so-jolly Saint Nick (Dec 18, 2009) Santa Gets Political art by Ambrosavage, Lande, and Dees (Dec 17, 2009)

WAR

Deceptive 'Progressives' Call for Support of War Bruce Gagnon (Dec 16, 2009)
Mr. President: War Is Not Peace Norman Solomon (Dec 16, 2009) w/ cartoon by Dan McConnell

WORKPLACE

No DIME for the Dems WA Labor Council leadership accepts activist platform for economic recovery. Will they follow through? Steve Hoffman (Nov 6, 2009)

WORLD

The First-ever Frisbee Club of Limbe Joel Hanson (Nov 4, 2009)

HEALTH

Avoid Flu Shots, Get Some Sun Instead an MD explains Dr. Donald W. Miller, Jr (Nov 1, 2009)

RIGHTS

Puyallup Bans Door-to-door Religious Speech ACLU of WA (Oct 16, 2009)

EDUCATION

Why Don't Taiwanese Boys Like To Read? other countries experience same problem; choice of books may be key Bill Costello

ELECTIONS

One Million WA Voters Deprived of Secret Ballot someone may know who and what you vote for Smith & Lowney law firm (Oct 16, 2009)

LETTERS

Single-Payer Health; Toilet-Paper Tax READER MAIL with cartoons by Jonik and McConnell (Oct 16, 2009)

BUSINESS

'So Sue Us' sleazy real estate dealings Mark & Carol DeCoursey (Sept 24, 2009)
Tips To Avoid Predatory Real Estate Deals Doug Collins (Oct 16, 2009)

SUBSTANCES

FDA Cigarette Regulation is Bad News John Jonik (posted Aug 28, 2009)
A Dose of Reality: Drug Legalization Megan Cornish (posted Aug 28, 2009)

SPORTS

A People's History of Sports BOOK REVIEW Doreen McGrath (posted July 24, 2009)

CLIMATE

Cashing In On Earth's Cycles: Part 3 Alan Cheetham & Richard Kirby (posted July 24, 2009)
Obama: How Serious About Climate Change? Doug Collins (posted July 24, 2009)

ENERGY

Northwest Flunks Energy Sightline Institute (posted June 3, 2009)

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posted Nov. 6, 2009

cartoon by John Jonik

A Close Look at the 'Corporate Option'

Ten reasons why mandatory private health insurance is an awful idea

By John Jonik

1) Private insurers are businesses that must grow. This guarantees endless cuts in service, and endless hikes in costs to the public. These companies have both motive and duty to provide as little service as possible at the highest price possible. This is an adversarial situation with the public.

2) A significant chunk of customers’ health care money goes to corporations that give contributions to political candidates that customers may not care to support. These corporations also spend customer money by lobbying for legislation that favors the corporations’ own interests. Mandatory purchase of private insurance would have our government---our sworn and paid representatives---compelling citizens to provide revenues to candidates preferred by private insurers. There is no public interest health-related justification for mandating this part of an insurance policy.

3) A large percent of the cost of a policy goes to non-health-related things such as advertising, CEO bonuses, corporate jets, business conventions, and corporate headquarters upkeep. No health-related justification exists for mandating that citizens pay for that along with the actual health benefits.

4) For-profit insurers, using revenue collected from customers, invest in all sorts of private businesses, many being among the most health-damaging ones, including cigarette manufacturing, pesticides (including many pesticides used in tobacco products), dioxin-producing chlorine industries, genetically engineered crops, and so forth. This creates a conflict of interest in that insurers would be inclined to ignore or play down harms caused by their investment properties. This conflict motivates insurers to blame, as a distraction and PR tactic, every non-industrial thing they can think of for causing diseases.

5) For-profit insurers invest heavily in environmentally destructive industries such as mountaintop removal coal mining, oil, clear-cut logging, and factory fishing. These insurers also invest in sweatshop operations, military contractors, and union-busting firms. Furthermore, these insurers may invest in businesses that compete with a customer’s own livelihood or in businesses which a customer may disapprove of for a variety of moral or religious reasons. A mandate to purchase services from such an insurer would be a compulsion on people to violate their own beliefs or undermine their own well-being.

6) For-profits invest in pharmaceuticals, thus creating a conflict of interest in that such an insurer would use its power to favor drugs from its own investment holdings over others that may be cheaper, more effective, or safer. This conflict would also prompt an insurer to be lax in checking, or warning about, insufficiently tested or harmful drugs. This syndrome virtually guarantees that an insurer would oppose use of natural, un-patented remedies.

7) Mandates to purchase private health insurance are notably different from mandates on car owners to buy auto insurance. One may opt out of that compulsion by simply not driving. But, with health care, those in certain income brackets where “having” insurance is to be mandated will have no option except unacceptable ones---to a) leave the country, b) deplete assets to avoid the obligation, or c) die.

8) Mandates force people to speak to private insurers, an apparent violation of the Fifth Amendment---especially regarding the above-noted parts of the program that have no justification on health care grounds.

9) A person in the income level that will be compelled to purchase private insurance services will be paying private insurers twice: once directly, and a second time via their taxes to subsidize private insurance for low income people. Government will not just pay doctors and hospitals---it will give our tax money to private insurers to do that, at undoubtedly a great cost.

10) When the government subsidizes private insurance for low income people, much of that money will still go to the non-health-related things---including the investments in god-knows-what, and including big campaign contributions to political candidates.