The Real Deal Appeal Of Repeal, Part 3

Looks like insurance companies (pilloried by bad press and the threat of Democrats doing something else to them) are waving the white flag and moving to implement health care reforms months ahead of their scheduled implementation.  Steve Benen:

In recent weeks, we've seen many major insurers begin implementing a provision of the law that allows young adults to stay on their family health care plan through their 26th birthday. What's more, the industry agreed to stop denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions (after initially intending to exploit an alleged loophole in the law).

And this week, consumers and families received more good news -- the industry will scrap its "rescission" practices, four months before the new federal ban was scheduled to go into effect.

The health insurance industry has decided to end its practice of cancelling claims once a patient gets sick next month, well before the new health care law would have required it, the industry's chief spokesman said Wednesday.

"While many health plans already abide by the standards outlined in the new law, our community is committed to implementing the new standards in May 2010 to ensure that individuals and families will have greater peace of mind when purchasing coverage on their own," AHIP president and chief executive Karen Ignagni said in a letter to top House Democrats.

The decision to end rescission, as the practice is known, was made during a Tuesday afternoon conference call of chief executives organized by their trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, and represents the industry's latest attempt to build political good will after the bruising health care fight.

The heartening announcement on rescissions came on the heels of a Reuters report on WellPoint routinely dropping coverage for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Yesterday, the company said it would end the practice by this weekend.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer described all of this as "a clear sign of momentum for changing the health care status quo."

Go ahead, Republicans. Promise to undo all of this progress, turn back the clock, and eliminate these needed, popular advances. I dare you.

He's got a salient point there, and every time a major GOP figure goes on TV saying "Obamacare must be repealed!" the Democrats need to counter with "The Republicans want to take away your consumer rights."  Line up Newt and Mitchy and Moose Lady and Orange Julius on the screen and say "You want to have insurance companies cancel your policy because you get sick?  They do."  The commercials write themselves.

Health care reform is a winning issue for the Dems if they play off the losing issue of repeal for the Republicans.  You've noticed they've shifted away from health care to immigration too.  They keep flopping around from the economy (most people still blame Bush and the Republicans) to health care (most people still hate insurance companies) to financial reform (most people still hate Wall Street) and have gone on to immigration (which is splitting the GOP down the middle).  They don't have a winning issue for the same reason they didn't have one in 2006 or 2008.  They're on the wrong side of history again and again.

Standing around yelling NO at everything is not a way to solve the country's problems.