GOP Health Plan Would Allow For ‘Sweatshop Insurance’
GOP Health Plan Would Allow For ‘Sweatshop Insurance’
Under the Republican health care alternative filed in the House, young and healthy individuals can purchase policies from insurers that don’t abide by local benefit or rate standards. The Republican bill allows the health insurer to choose a “primary state” “whose covered laws shall govern the health insurance issuer” and market policies to other states without adhering “to all of the consumer protection laws or restrictions on rate changes of the state.”
Over at MYDD, Bruce Webb, calls the provision, “Sweatshop Insurance.” “This bill goes far beyond that in stripping states of power over insurance rates and conditions,” he notes. It “explicitly expands the definition of ‘State’ to include not just D.C. and Puerto Rico, which makes some sense in context, but adds BY NAME the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Jack Abramoff’s favorite client-the Northern Marianas home of the ‘Made in the USA’ Chinese-owned close to slave labor sweatshops.” From pages 121-122 of the bill:
As Webb goes on to explain, “companies can simply designate the Northern Marianas as the ‘primary State’ for their plan, or since it is closer the Virgin Islands and then have those governments be the sole regulator. And given the record of corruption in the N. Marianas and the willingness of various Caribbean and Atlantic Island nations to let themselves be used as off-shore banking and tax shelter entities you can bet Aetna and WellPoint are slavering at the prospect of ‘basing’ their plans out of a PO Box on some tropical nation.”
The Wonk Room tried to identify if any of the islands regulated individual insurance policies. We contacted several lobbying firm representing the N. Marianas but only reached Donna Christensen, the non-voting Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands to the United States House of Representatives. Her office did not know if the Virgin Islands had any consumer protections for policies sold in the individual market.
14 Responses to “GOP Health Plan Would Allow For ‘Sweatshop Insurance’”
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As for the tax haven point, Delaware ranked #1.
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2009/11/america-is-top-tax-haven.html
WellPoint show one foreign sub in China. UnitedHealth has many foreign subsidiaries:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/731766/000119312509025587/dex211.htm
November 6th, 2009 at 12:13 pmAmeriGroup has a sub in Puerto Rico:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1064863/000095013309000419/w72825exv21w1.htm
November 6th, 2009 at 12:15 pmFun Facts on the Northern Marianas from the CIA:
chief of state: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
November 6th, 2009 at 12:22 pmLobbyists calling lobbyists? Not much of a standard for information gathering.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobbyist.php?lname=Podesta%2C+John&id=Y00000268620&year=2006
November 6th, 2009 at 12:25 pmMore data on CAP:
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?year=2009&lname=Center+for+American+Progress&id=
November 6th, 2009 at 12:30 pmThe problem is not that young and healthy individuals can choose to buy plans from those states but that even the old and sick could be forced to buy those plans simply by the insurers designating any given state or territory as the ‘primary State’ for ALL their plans. And if that state starts getting uppity and actually showing signs of regulating your plans you simply threaten to move. Near as I can tell nothing in the bill requires you to set up much if any physical precense in that state, essentially the bill provides a free check good for unlimited blackmail via jurisdiction shopping.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:08 pmThere was an error in the original MyDD diary. Under the bill this only applies to the individual market, and not as I implied to the employer group market. But it seems that would be the next step once the Camel gets its Nose under the Tent.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:40 pmAnd if that state starts getting uppity and actually showing signs of regulating your plans you simply threaten to move.
Change “regulating” to “taxing” and you have the PEU boys frequent refrain on carried interest. This is a key step in the move to the lowest global common denominator on regulations, taxes and worker pay/benefits.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pmI implied to the employer group market.
CAP projections call for 54 million to fall from employer sponsored health insurance under reform. That’s the real camel’s nose under the tent.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:35 pmWhat, no cross posting Igor? The clueless on TP swallowed hook, line and sinker.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:43 pmAetna and UnitedHealth already have subs on tropical nations. WellPoint doesn’t, unless you consider China tropical.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1122304/000112230409000036/ex21_1.htm
Doean’t anyone do research anymore?
November 6th, 2009 at 3:04 pmFrom Igor’s TP post, some two hours after this one:
“Given the record of corruption in the N. Marianas,” Webb writes
It seems their Chief of State should do something about. What are President Obama and V.P. Biden’s plans?
Chief of state: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009); Vice President Joseph R. BIDEN (since 20 January 2009)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cq.html
November 6th, 2009 at 3:10 pmThis sounds like a recipe that will ultimately lead to failed agreements and considerable suffering on the part of those who seek cheap insurance, only to suffer some catastrophic event or illness and find that their insurer isn’t willing to offer much.
In such situations, even trying to enforce that the insurer must meet their obligations becomes an exercise in international legal action that these people will be even less able to afford than if the same problem occurred in country.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:40 pmYou fooled ‘em, Igor. Not a clue amongst the bunch:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/06/gop-sweatshop-insurance/#comments
November 6th, 2009 at 7:11 pm