OBAMA SCORES HEALTH INSURERS AS DECEPTIVE AND DISHONEST

OBAMA SCORES HEALTH INSURERS AS DECEPTIVE AND DISHONEST

17 October 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the Points of Light forum at Texas A&M
University hosted by former president George H.W. Bush in College Station, Texas
October 16, 2009.

BY PATRICIA ZENGERLE
Reuters

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama lashed out on Saturday against the “deceptive and dishonest” efforts of health insurance companies, who he said are trying to kill healthcare reform, no matter the cost to the country.

Sharpening his attack on insurers, Obama also signaled support for a congressional review of the insurance industry’s long-standing exemption from federal anti-trust laws. Some Democrats want the privilege repealed.

The Democratic president’s push to revamp the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry, his top domestic policy priority, received a big boost this week when the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of a reform measure with the support of Republican Senator Olympia Snowe.