Insurance Megalomaniacs Expected To Grow Even Bigger

Are health insurance companies merging at unprecedented rates? Are there any safeguards available to the public, to prevent these giant companies from acquiring absolute power over the health care industry?

We all remember as kids playing an innocent game of Monopoly. Land on Boardwalk and that meant big trouble. But maybe that experience will serve as an example to help us better understand the monopolization of the health care industry.

So we ask the big question, do insurance giants really compete against each other? Does the new legislation (Obama’s health care package) passed by the Senate prevent Big Insurance from getting even bigger?

According to Professor Robert Reich, the answer is no: “Remarkably, the Senate bill still keeps Big Insurance safe from competition by preserving its privileged exemption from the antitrust laws.”

Well then, according to an article in Rasmussen Reports, “insurance companies have succeeded in denying care, quashing competition, driving up costs and winning federal subsidies for their companies.”

You might add that this new health care will cover everyone. But will this be sustainable say, ten years from now? What if health care costs skyrocket even more? How will Congress solve that problem, which will still exist? Won’t Big Insurance still own Boardwalk? What if a citizen is not eligible for government health care, and cannot afford a plan?

What is the impact of consolidated health insurance markets? Even the AMA is concerned. A Comprehensive Study (PDF) suggested that in the past 12 years, out of more than 400 mergers, the Department Of Justice has challenged only two. That’s right, and by the way, this is not current data. Imagine further merging since the 2005 study.

And in return, the same insurance companies get huge federal subsidies through Medicare, and other government programs. This is the same reason that these megalomaniacs donate such huge sums of money to political campaigns. Lobbyists expect paybacks, and that is exactly what they get from political candidates, in the form of legislation. And make no mistake, Republicans and Democrats receive lobby money.

Inactivity, blind-sided dealings, and corruption with government have allowed a total runaway market for the already massive insurance conglomerates; and these entities have absolutely nothing to do with providing health care to the masses!

This is in essence, a systematic approach of killing a huge quantity of Americans, while the oligopolies control the markets, prevent any competition, and control health care prices. All this while Congress idly stands by, all the while pretending to protect American interests. Adolph Hitler would have fully appreciated the systematic approach of killing thousands, with no restraint or accountability.

The latest headline: Insurance Company Mergers & Acquisitions Likely to Increase. The power of profits over patients…