The Chicago Way

“You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!” -- Officer Jim Malone (Sean Connery) The Untouchables, 1987

In November of last year, the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) a trade group representing several major insurers, perhaps sensing change in the air, came out in favor of universal health coverage…with conditions. AHIP agreed to cover all comers, regardless of illness or disability, provided that all Americans would be required to carry health insurance.

The new administration greeted the apparent change of heart with open arms. In fact, AHIP’s CEO Karen Ignagni was invited by President Obama only months ago to speak at a White House event on health care, which many public option wonks declared as a sign that the Forces for Change were in perfect alignment.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Hopeandchange.

They pull a knife…

Earlier this month, AHIP commissioned a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers that concluded that the health care reform legislation then under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee would actually serve to increase private insurance premiums for individuals, families and business above what their costs would be without any the reform.

He pulls a gun…

Democrats have introduced a measure to strip the insurance industry of antitrust exemptions it has enjoyed since 1945. In commenting on the industry just last week, the President remarked that insurers are earning “profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exemption from our antitrust laws.”

That’s the Chicago way.