Swimming With The Sharks

A political cartoon in my local newspaper today made me laugh—for a moment or two.

The cartoon, by Matt Davies, depicts a huge shark lurking just beneath the water's surface and a very small boat floating above. A man standing on the deck is aiming a tiny harpoon. The shark, labeled “insurance cos.,” is saying “They want to hurt us” to a person seen huddling inside the shark for protection, depicting the  “health industry” (Hey, it's not easy to describe a cartoon).

While the depiction is funny, it also portrays, once again, a predatory image of the insurance industry. This health care issue has people confused and upset and not knowing what or who to believe.

So it's unnerving to read an editorial in today's New York Times about an analysis commissioned by industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to the column, the report only looked at four components of the Finance Committee's bill that would drive up costs, ignoring those likely to bring costs down for many.

I tried, without luck, to find a summary or mention of the study on the AHIP Web site, so I have linked to the Times editorial, below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/opinion/15thu1.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

My point is that by not presenting all sides of the issue, the insurance industry, like the cartoon, appears to be desperately protecting itself at the cost of the consumer. In the long run, I believe these tactics will backfire.