Kathleen Sebelius Claims Insurance Lobby Won’t Beat Obama

Taking the showdown up a notch by using "fighting words," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said yesterday that the insurance lobby in this country won’t possibly be able to block an Obama-proposed health plan. Her reasoning? That Americans are smart enough to realize that they will benefit if the health insurance industry has competition. Sebelius was quick to point out that President Obama has no desire to drive insurers out of business, but merely to make them more competitive, to the benefit of the working families of America.

Said Sebelius, "I think there is a lot of understanding that the private market has really failed to provide affordable coverage to Americans." Sebelius then went on to say that the health insurance industry "hasn’t served Americans very well." Sebelius was also clear, however, that Obama will compromise on the public plan if he feels it is in the best interests of the American people. For instance, by no means does he require that the plan be run by the U.S. government (perhaps already bogged down by running auto manufacturers).

Speaking at length of the insurance industry, Sebelius noted, "I think they understand there’s a lot of momentum both in the House and in the Senate for something to pass, and they’d much rather be inside the room, having those discussions, and helping to shape it as much to their liking as they possibly can." In short, Sebelius told insurers they had better play ball, or the government is going to take away the bats, balls, gloves and even the stadium and just set up its own game.