Bear with me for a moment . . . Something like 77% of Americans think the time is right for a Public Option (see SurveyUSA poll Question #2).  But a lot of the criticism that’s coming out of Washington right now centers on the health insurance companies — largely due to Republican and [ more . . . ]]]> I just finished watching Ocean’s Thirteen so, I’ve got a little bit of a gambling fixation.  Not that I would ever bet on Healthcare Reform — It’s way too important an issue — but what does gambling say about where the Public Option might stand right now?

Bear with me for a moment . . . Something like 77% of Americans think the time is right for a Public Option (see SurveyUSA poll Question #2).  But a lot of the criticism that’s coming out of Washington right now centers on the health insurance companies — largely due to Republican and lobbyist influence — getting pretty much everything they want.  In particular, it’s shaping up that they’re going to be really rolling in it (and by ‘it’ we mean ‘profits’).

Maybe that’s why the Republicans are playing it a bit cooler than they were earlier . . .

Think it through.  What if the needle tipped even more in favor of the health insurance companies?  Or even just that public sentiment thought the needle was tipping too much in favor of the health insurance companies?

Well, you know what? I think it raises the stakes on a whiplash in favor of the Public Option to put all those corporate profits back into play (think AIG and the tremendous backlash against employee bonuses earlier in the year).

There’s a lot of ways this could yet go, but the above might go a long way to explaining why the Republican strategy to defeat Healthcare Reform appears to have boiled down to a five-letter chant, S-T-A-L-L.

I’m writing about healthcare reform from a different perspective on my professional site, EntrepreneurialC, but let’s talk about the intersection of the Health Insurance Industry and Politics for a second . . .

We’ve witnessed a steadily increasing problem for decades now, and it’s accelerated greatly over the past 5-10 [ more . . . ]]]> As we stand here on the eve of Congress reconvening, is it more important to protect capitalism and corporate profits?  Or is it ‘doing the right thing’ and making affordable healthcare available for all?

I’m writing about healthcare reform from a different perspective on my professional site, EntrepreneurialC, but let’s talk about the intersection of the Health Insurance Industry and Politics for a second . . .

We’ve witnessed a steadily increasing problem for decades now, and it’s accelerated greatly over the past 5-10 years.  What’s particularly distressing is the number of uninsured.  Right now it stands at or just shy of 50,000,000 Americans.  Why? That’s 50M people that don’t have something 250M of the rest of us already have.

Now, look, I’m an MBA.  I believe in capitalism.  But let’s be honest — There’s something seriously wrong with any market that experiences a shrinking customer base.  If this were a storefront, we’d all be looking at it as a business that’s about to go out of business.  And that’s exactly why we need reform.

You see, set aside for a second whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or other.  The simple fact is the insurance industry doesn’t appear to be operating in a sustainable manner.  Instead of a steady-state of good products or services and fair profit, the current state is out-of-whack.  Insurance companies are soaking profit out of their Customers (You).  Insurance companies are defrauding Americans out of the insurance they rightfully purchased.  And Americans, yes, healthy Americans, are gaming the system by opting out of expensive insurance when — in their opinion — they don’t need it.

Those are all bad indicators at just a basic business level and a strong indication that the current state is not sustainable.  If this were a pizza shop (and you owned it), you’d be looking around right now seeing that your business is dying, and you’d be looking for the first person to sell to.  And that is exactly what’s happening in the current system, that because long-term sustainability is unclear, everyone is either going to (or be forced to) continue squeezing the system for all its worth. So, let’s be honest as we decide to move forward . . What’s more important?