Surprise! AMA Clout Diminishes After Helping Deliver ObamaCare
American Medical Association and ObamaCare

by Ed Morrissey

The American Medical Association went to bat for the Democrats on ObamaCare, campaigning openly for it and giving the Obama administration a number of photo ops that allowed him to claim support from the entire medical community for the top-down overhaul of the American health-care system.  In exchange, the AMA hoped to gain enough political IOUs to keep Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement cuts from taking place.  Instead, all they got was a few month's reprieve - and a growing reputation as saps, according to Politico:

Months after delivering its crucial endorsement of the health care overhaul, the American Medical Association has found itself with fewer friends on Capitol Hill and more critics questioning its lobbying savvy.

Its troubles couldn't come at a worse time: It is more dependent than ever on having allies in Congress, thanks to the growing number of Medicare patients.

The AMA's most prominent lobbying failure has  been its inability to repeal the obsolete formula governing payments for Medicare patients - a method that has for years required regular temporary "fixes" to avoid big pay cuts for doctors.

The problem predicates itself on the AMA's willingness to prostitute itself on behalf of a basic deception in ObamaCare.  Democrats attempted to sell it as a net deficit reducer, but kept the reimbursement cuts in place to do so.  The AMA willingly went along with ObamaCare, assured that a side deal would eliminate the cuts, even though that would destroy the economic basis for claiming that the bill would bend the cost curve downward.

At the time, Democrats didn't think it would take long to get ObamaCare pushed through Congress.  The so-called 'doctor fix' attempts began last summer, but stalled as attention drew to the problems it would create with the fiscal argument for ObamaCare.  Meanwhile, the AMA kept pimping for the overhaul while pressing Democrats to keep their end of the bargain.

Unfortunately, Democrats began looking at the polls - and started scaling back the doctor-fix legislation.  Instead of playing along the second time, the AMA attempted to campaign against a compromise bill that would have scaled back the cuts for the next five years rather than repeal them altogether.  After spending millions of dollars, they succeeded in stopping the five year plan, but instead Congress adopted a five month fix that will last until just after the November midterms.

Now the AMA has found itself outside of both parties on Capitol Hill.  Democrats, having passed ObamaCare with the AMA's millions of lobbying dollars, has no more use for them.  Neither do Republicans, who would rather work with other health-care associations that don't sell themselves out so easily.  The AMA is six million dollars poorer and in the worst shape in which it could possibly be - and they only have themselves to blame for it.

 

 

Update on the Insurance Commissioner's Race
Results Final- Nominees Set for November Insurance Commissioner Contest

November will be upon us sooner than we know and it will be time to choose the new Insurance Commissioner for our state. This race is of obvious importance to our industry and it is our job to let our members know just how critical this year's race truly is. The new insurance commissioner will play a very crucial role in examining how the new federal health care reform law is implemented as well as enacting or enforcing numerous regulations on insurance providers.
 
What we don't want to see is an Insurance Commissioner who has in the past been less than friendly to small business owners and at times, downright hostile. Unfortunately, Dave Jones, the Democratic candidate has proven to be just that. Jones has demonstrated a penchant for over-regulation and political posturing against the business community, most recently introducing a bill designed to give more power to the Insurance Commissioner's bureaucracy. Assembly Bill 2578 (Jones and Feuer) requires that prior approval be obtained from the State before health insurance rates are increased. HMOs and health insurers would need to receive approval from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) or the Department of Insurance for proposed rate increases. The Department would have sixty days to act after receiving the rate application. The bill continues to advance as it was passed on June 25th in the Senate Health Committee.

Jones' opponent, Mike Villines has demonstrated a far better grasp on the importance of unleashing the private sector to improve our state's economy. According to the California Chamber of Commerce, in 2009 Assemblyman Mike Villines had a perfect pro-business voting record, while Assemblyman Dave Jones had an abysmal anti-business voting record, voting for bills that support a business friendly environment in the state only 15% of the time! If past performance is the best indicator of future results, then everyone doing business in California has much to be concerned about with a Dave Jones continuing to hold any office.

Also, in mid-July as the budget of the world's 8th largest economy was overdue once again and an enormous deficit loomed - what does Assemblyman Dave Jones do? Why, introduce a bill designed to further over-burden small businesses in the name of 'pet insurance' of course. Filed under "Legislators Who Are Completely Out of Touch", Jones introduced AB2411, a proposed regulation that would require pet insurers to post detailed policy information on their websites.

Conversely, IABAC is encouraged by the record of Republican candidate, Mike Villines. Villines believes in freedom of choice when it comes to insurance and would like to see consumers benefit from California's policies rather than grow government. He has proven to be the better candidate for the job through his hard work in fighting for a healthy, competitive business climate in our state. Villines has introduced bills throughout his career as an assemblyman that are designed to help businesses thrive - not drive them out of business. Recently he introduced AB 1904 "Buying Insurance Across State Lines." The bill basically allows California residents to "buy health insurance products Americans in other states are allowed to buy for health care coverage or insurance." This legislation allows residents to decide which plan is best for them. Also, as a businessman, we believe Mike Villines will listen to the concerns of the business community and work to decrease the already over-bearing regulations suffocating our industry.
 
IABAC will be watching closely as we near November. We will continue to monitor this race and keep you informed about those candidates running to oversee the Department of Insurance.