We recently came across an e-mail from the President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (our home State), Paul Boulis. In this e-mail he is calling for “grass roots action alert! Contact your Congressman today!”

Mr. Boulis is stating that a public health insurance option will:

        ” * severely damage the current employer-based system for providing health benefits

          * exacerbate cost shifting

          * eventually squeeze private insurers from the market

          * cause employers to lose any ability to manage the costs of coverage, while still accountable for continued contributions

          * jeopardize delivery system reforms critical to controlling costs.”

Point #1: The “current employer-based system” is disintegrating. More and more companies eliminate health insurance benefits or shift the cost to their employees. Companies can not afford the year-to-year increases in health care costs.

Point #2: Mr Boulis – the shift has been exacerbating for some time now – where have you been?

Point #3: We doubt private insurers will be squeezed “out of the market”. We’re pretty sure they will find a way to sell some sort of private policies to augment a public option.

Point #4: We think most employers (and Individuals)  have already lost the ability to control the costs of coverage.

Point #5: “jeopardize delivery system reforms critical to controlling costs.” Where have the private insurance folks been for the last five years? Costs have done nothing but increase. When was the last time you received a cost reduction in your health care premium resultant of the private insurers’ effectiveness in controlling costs?

Mr. Boulis, we understand that private health insurers Do Not obtain the majority of their revenues and profits from the difference they collect in premiums and the amount of claims they are forced to pay out (even though the vast majority of claims are rejected and require some sort of negotiation).

Private Insurers make the majority of their money on investments they make with the premiums they collect. If they did as well as we all did with our retirement funds over the past two (2) years they have lost about 50% of their value.

What comes next? Increased premiums in attempts to recoup money on investments that did not perform.

Ask any business owner or individual who pays health care premiums - what has happened to their health care rates versus the rate of inflation over the last five (5) years?

The five points Mr. Boulis makes above are nothing more than distractions to the real issue. That real issue is: We can not afford to leave the decisions for our health care in the hands of lobbyists and the influence of private insurers!

 Every one of us must tell our Representation and President Obama’s Administration we want Health Care reform for We The People, not the insurance companies that continue to shift the burden of their profits to their “customers” instead of their executives and shareholders!