The dirty little story behind the story

[MikeWaters]

You've heard Obama and other democrats roundly attack the insurance companies. They have become the bogeymen of healthcare.

But in the run up to the healthcare vote, can you recall seeing a single ad from any kind of political group, asking you to call your congressperson to oppose it?

I didn't see one.

Did you see anything from big pharma and insurance companies that were in opposition?

I didn't.

So what's the dirty little story? At least in the short term, big pharma and insurance stand to make huge profits off of Obamacare. Expansion of pharmaceutical coverage as well as closing the donut hole in Medicare Part D? Huge windfalls for big pharma. Shuttling the uninsured through private insurance, at taxpayer's expense? Huge windfall for private insurance. And that's where the insurance mandate comes in. By forcing healthy young people to buy insurance, their concerns about pre-existing conditions are mitigated. All the money, hidden and not, that used to pay for charitable care will now go through the major insurance companies.

That's why you didn't see ads. Because the companies were behind the healthcare reform along with Obama.

Were there things that the insurance companies would have preferred to do without? Sure. But they are not too worried. What this legislation did was appease the big money interests in healthcare. Which means that the opposition to it is just plain ol grassroots conservatism.

Which means that overturning it faces huge odds, because there will be no deep pockets backing such an effort.