Is the Media Protecting Private Insurance?

When Frontline aired “Sick Around America” last week, it was billed as the sequel to T.R. Reid’s “Sick Around the World.”  However, although he filmed many of the interviews, Reid fundamentally disagreed with many of the points in the most recent documentary – so much so that he asked that his name be taken off it.  The issue at hand was how some of the private insurance talking points were allowed to stand unchallenged.  This is sadly beginning to become a pattern, enough that it’s time to ask if the media is more interested in the truth, or in the private insurance companies?

Let’s just say private insurance has had a pretty easy time of it as the future of health care reform has been debated.  I’ve lost track of the number of articles written to discuss how cooperative and open they’ve been during discussions with any number of groups.  Their willingness to discontinue discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions got two rounds of press, months apart, and video of Karen Ignagni, president of AHIP, pledging support for the president’s reform effort was the top story on Mark Halperin’s The Page on the day of the White House summit on health reform.  And yes, it is welcome relief not to be fighting the insurance industry every step of the way… yet.  But what you never see balancing the discussion is any acknowledgment that cherry-picking health customers and denying care to those who need it is a morally repugnant business practice to begin with.  Much has been made about whether an individual mandate requiring all individuals to buy insurance is desirable or needs to be part of any reform, but the necessity of an individual mandate pales in comparison to the importance of a standard minimum benefits package.  So of course we might walk away from that think the insurance industry is doing right by reform – after all, there seems to be a moratorium on talking about the fact that we’ve been taken advantage of for so long is partially to blame for us having 47 million uninsured to begin with.

Now we get to Reid’s main objection.  The show prominently features Karen Ignagni saying that health insurance for all could be a reality if we do what other countries do and mandate insurance.  I’ll let Reid take it from here:  “mandating for-profit insurance is not the lesson from other countries in the world… Doctors, hospitals, nurses, labs can all be for-profit.  But the payment system has to be non-profit. All the other countries have agreed on that. We are the only one that allows health insurance companies to make a profit. You can't allow a profit to be made on the basic package of health insurance.” So something that’s easily understood from the study of other countries – a minimum set of standard benefits that companies can’t make a profit on is necessary to prevent denial of patient care – instead becomes AHIP’s favorite talking point and, incidentally, one that if implemented would be a surefire way for insurance companies to make more money.  Why?

It would perhaps be too cynical to suggest that all the ads for Humana Medicare Advantage plans and Emblem Health and what have you aren’t just to attract new customers but to subtly influence more favorable coverage.  After all, PBS is a non-profit television show.  But there’s something to said about dominant news stories that evolve out of the pack mentality of conventional thinking.  Currently, the “story” seems to be about the sworn enemies of reform coming together in a positive way.  That has the thrill and the shock of surprise story – dogs and cats, living together in peace!  Pointing out that AHIP is willing to support reforms that increase their bottom line and negotiate away only one or two of their morally questionable for-profit practices is a far more boring story – the insurance industry, up to their old tricks.  As long as they can get mileage and subsequently ratings out of this angle, expect to see more stories that consciously or unconsciously defend the vested moneyed interests of private for-profit insurance.

(Photo credit:  Shavar on Flickr.)