we will have to see what the conference bill looks like, but I doubt the insurance industry gets off this light. someone has to be the villain, and it's obvious that the faceless insurance industry will be the democrats fall guy. if the opt-out and pre-existing condition requirements pass, then people are just going to drop their insurance when they are healthy, and buy coverage when they are ill. and that will just further degrade the pool of insureds.
but it is still outrageous that the dems are getting away with arguing that a government run option would "create competition" and/or "keep the insurance companies honest". the central government has never in it's history created anything even resembling competition. in fact, their typical method of operation is to DESTROY competition. and before you can claim that someone need to keep anyone honest, you should have to prove that they are actually being dishonest.
Insurers poised to reap benefits from healthcare overhaulReporting from Los Angeles and Washington - As President Obama's push for a healthcare overhaul moves toward its final act, the oft-vilified health insurance industry is on the verge of seeing a plan enacted that largely protects its financial interests.
That achievement, should it stand up in the final legislation, would be the capstone of a sophisticated lobbying and strategic campaign that began even before Obama was elected president.
The specifics of the healthcare legislation are still being hashed out on Capitol Hill, and key details will evolve in the days ahead. Even so, there is broad agreement that the final plan will, for the first time, require Americans to buy health coverage, with taxpayer subsidies for millions who cannot afford it.
For the health insurance industry, that means millions of new paying customers. What's more, there are likely to be no limits on what insurers can charge, while at the same time the plan is expected to limit competition from any new national government insurance plan that lawmakers create.
These anticipated wins -- from an initiative that has at times been portrayed as doomsday for health insurers -- is the result of a strategy developed by one of Washington's savviest lobbyists, Karen Ignagni. Under Ignagni's leadership, the industry group America's Health Insurance Plans adopted the goal of universal coverage while setting out to shape it in a way that benefited insurers -- a crucial move that aligned their interests with those of other groups, including consumers and hospitals.
More 
