Obama Pushes For Insurance Exchanges

Conservatives have supported health insurance exchanges. The Heritage Foundation and U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio have advocated taking health care coverage away from employers. The advantage of employer-based health insurance is private companies can negotiate cheaper coverage with insurers. Citizens don't have that power. That is the same reason why the proposed co-opts have limited leverage with insurance companies. The public insurance option will be big enough to leverage for cheaper medical treatment.

Obama has caved in to Sen. Olympia Snowe and is proposing insurance exchanges.

Now, if you're one of the tens of millions of Americans who don't currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan will finally offer you quality, affordable choices. If you lose your job or change your job, you will be able to get coverage. If you strike out on your own and start a small business, you will be able to get coverage. We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange - a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage. This is how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance. It's how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And it's time to give every American the same opportunity that we've given ourselves.

This will take health insurance coverage from employers and into the private markets. Companies save money by not offing insurance and insurers can charge higher prices per person. This is not health care reform. Obama is offering a financial giveaway to insurers and businesses. My fears have been proven to be true.

Snowe told David Shuster she will not support a public option. Snowe is optimistic about Obama's speech. Health care advocates should be worried.



Update: After watching speech, it appears a scaled down version of the public option is still on the table.