Tweet
The Urban Institute has issued a report explaining how wonderful a trigger would be. Apparently even the threat of a strong public option would be enough to make the health insurance companies do right. After explaining that a strong public option, one tied to Medicare rates in some way, would really cut costs, the report says:
In the absence of enough political support to pass a strong public option at this time, a “trigger” for a strong public option should be considered for inclusion in health reform legislation whether or not a weak public option is included as a political compromise. Even the threat of such a plan being triggered offers the potential to affect market dynamics between insurers and providers.
Jane doesn’t agree. But I bet this report just thrilled the folks at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has given the Urban Institute $7,915,778 since 2003. The data is from the Foundation Directory Online. This is Wikipedia’s description of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation:
Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is the United States’ largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. The foundation’s sole purpose is to help people in the U.S. live healthier lives and get the health care they need. The foundation has significant resources—$10 billion in assets, generating grants approaching $500 million a year—to address the nation’s most complex health and health care issues. The Foundation aims to use these private resources in the service of the public, and in a way that prompts new public policy, inspires action from the private sector, and changes systems for delivering the best health care to the most people.
Wikipedia also explains their policy on health insurance:
Health Insurance Coverage: Ensuring that everyone in America has stable, affordable health care coverage through the development of policies and programs to expand health coverage and maximize enrollment in existing coverage programs.
As far as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation people are concerned, existing health insurance plans are great, we just need to buy one for everyone.
Others contributing to the Urban Institute in the last few years are The Aetna Foundation, $55,000; and The WellPoint Foundation, $101,219
This technique of using apparently independent foundations to blow smoke at serious policy discussions and make everything as complicated as possible is standard practice for giant foundations. Professor G. William Domhoff wrote about the role of foundations in pushing the views of the power elite. One example he gives is a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, explaining how Exxon-Mobil used the tactics of the tobacco industry to confuse and delay global warming legislative action. Among other things, Exxon-Mobil funded apparently independent groups to put out the messages they wanted. It works even better if you can get groups with a good reputation to cloud the issue.
13 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
What is the Urban Institute? How do they usually lean? What other positions do they take?
That wikipedia entry explains better than anythng else why, sadly, wikipedia is an unreliable piece of shit.
My son in law runs a business of 90 employee’s and his health care costs went up 20% to 40% this year. The sales person for the health insurace said he was one of the few companies who covered dependents. In other words the emplyee had to cover dependents on their plan. This is in central South Carolina
I was just to a Financial Services field meeting (north suburb of Detroit) on small business not being able to get loans. A businessman made his case.
After the hearing I talked to the small business person and he said his health care costs were also going up 20% to 40% dependent the insurer. He did not know how much longer he can carry dependents.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THOSE WHO THINK THEIR EMPLOYER WILL CONTINUE AS WAS HISTORICALLY ARE NOT ON FIRM GROUND.
Getting rid of preconditions et al only will raise the costs. The public option is the only mechanism to provide competition. Health Insurance companies are oligoplic and will only continue to milk the public.
Kucinich is right, not to have the Public Option only puts the health coporations on the government dole
Sounds like the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are the health care version of tobacco company “scientists”
NO PUBLIC OPTION NO SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATS THIS YEAR. I continue to support a public option because it is the best way to rein in health insurance costs. This is critical to the middle class.
And yes, employers will no longer be able to cover dependents with out a public option.
A trigger is a failure of reform.
Oh, and it isn’t just small businesses; it’s every school district, fire department, municipal employer, and public employer group in the nation. Which is one reason the Governors have raised this issue to the Senate.
The Senators don’t have to make government actually operate.
The Governors and mayors do.
(In this regard, the governors are closer to the problems faced by business.)
But here’s how I read the RWJ Foundation statement:
Translation: In our view, it’s a near-certainty that the legislative branches of government, particularly the US Senate, have been ‘captured’ by corporate interests and Wall Street. We’ve given up believing that change is actually possible, so here’s our figleaf to cover up the fact that even a big foundation like ours feels powerless to push for genuine change in this nation.
The health corporations realize that escalating health care costs are unsustainable. Therefore, they are trying to get ahead of the curve and become part of the public dole.
There, fixed it for you.
Is not the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the creation of one of the Johnsons of Johnson & Johnson?
By their donors ye shall know them:
More and more American political campaign funding reform appears to be what must happen first.
Big problem being the current political funders will resist this and the current politicians will be following the funders who shovel the most money in to not be for reform.
As for this round of American Healthcare Reform all things considered so much was tossed overboard so early on there is a genuine deficit of what can be compromised on now. Clearly the compromised nature of what now remains of original PO compromise fall back from full Single Payer approach is near useless,pointless,worthless now.
The Rs stand for bad government or no government and the Ds seem more interested in making Rs happy and less about actually doing real reform.
The Ds trying to make the Rs happy is quite the One Way Street as is as seen since 2007 or 2005 or 2002.
Barack Obama was selling some good stuff during 2008 in his bid for the WH.
Barack Obama now is playing ShapeShifter or we are seeing a version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the 2008 Obama is not around anymore.
Of course this reform of American Healthcare contrary to the happy talk the Ds are peddling is falling short too much in too many significant ways. Better nothing here in 2009. Wait to do it again and better after 2010 elections and still plan initial introduction of better/more long term viable HCR in 2011-2012 year span.
This being still a year ahead of this 2009 HCRs 2013 plan start or two years ahead of a 2014 plan start.
This 2009 HCR is a travesty and disgrace.Toss the whole mess overboard.
Have Dems put their brains on the shelf? Do they not get that this kind of crappy public option, no cost control and no manifest benefits in 2010 will spell their doom? Is Obama beholden to Rahm the total Corporate Tool? No other logic makes sense.
On Countdown, Sheldon Whitehouse’s announced his capitulation, from Robust Public Option to Trigger is shameful. As Nancy Pelosi said a Trigger is an excuse for doing nothing. Thus Whitehouse joins the ranks of do nothing Dems.
Maybe they should change their name to the “Richard Wood Johnson Foundation”, in order to more accurately describe the views of their policy analysts.
been around since the 70s, generally hire branded college grads and grad students. In the 70s, my generation, was a status place to go if you were an academic. It has never amounted to anything.