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Tony Ondrusek is founder and publisher of Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.

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Nancy Pelosi makes no bones about it: Those in the insurance industry are evildoers whose demise would serve our country well.

Read her comments in The Politico, and click this link to see in her own words in a video where she says a government health insurance plan will make the marketplace more competitive.

8 Responses

1. Anne M. Rubeo Says:
   August 5th, 2009 at 10:53 am

   Nancy Pelosi is undoubtedly the worst thing that has happened to the US along with Obama, Reid, Dodd and Frank. These people do not understand or know what the citizens of this country want They are so elite in their thinking that they believe we are all stupid and fools and in their infinite wisdom, they will save us.

   The demise of the insurance industry will further exacerbate unemployment
   as well effect the lives of those who depend on life, disability, long term care and health insurance. Her stupid comments is a further indication of her incompetence and disgrace has the Speaker of the House.

2. Charlotte G. Crandall Says:
   August 5th, 2009 at 11:04 am

   Apparently Ms. Pelosi knows little or nothing about the insurance industry and the wonderful benefits provided to consumers. I am sorry that she
   has never had the benefit of working with a professional financial advisor.

3. Richard C. Murphy, CLU, LUTCF Says:
   August 5th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

   It is indeed a shame that Speaker Pelosi has so diminished the once honorable, respected and admired position of Speaker of The House. Finger pointing and name calling is not what this country needs at this time. America is just beginning to understand that these people we send to DC just don’t get it!

4. Lee M. Gatta CLU AEP ChFC Says:
   August 5th, 2009 at 2:42 pm

   This entire debate has reached the lowest common denominator in that the mud slinging is not what is needed. The majority of Americans believe our country is so wonderful because our freedoms to choose have been preserved for hundreds of years. If Mrs. Pelosi’s ideas are carried to the auto insurance side, ALL of us would be paying for the drivers charged with DWI,DUI,fraud and excessive speeding, revoked licenses and the like. I have to believe there are more talented and creative people who can design a plan for the uninsured that both provides ACCESS to quality care and DOES NOT penalize those who choose to have private insurance through an employer or individually. Costs are out of control, yes, but the villains are not one segment of the industry. There are multiple culprits and if honest, we would all admit to that….To malign the insurance industry as a whole is to undermine the very fabric of what has kept this country economically strong and I , as an AMERICAN and then an experienced financial professional think Mrs Pelosi is misguided at best.

5. David W. Bombard Says:
   August 6th, 2009 at 11:34 am

   It’s really a shame that the house speaker would make such an uneducated remark such as this. What about doctors, hospitals & pharmaceutical companies? Is it right that a consumer should pay $15,000 a day for a hospital stay? Is it fair that doctors charge different rates for the insured & the uninsured? Is it fair that consumers have to pay thousands of dollars a moth for their prescription medication? I believe that these costs would be much higher if the insurance industry were not watchdogging these other factions & limiting the exorbitant prices that are being passed on to the consumer by these groups. Besides, it makes a lot of sense for the government to run the insurance industry as they have done so well with their other endeavors such as social security, welfare, etc. WHAT A JOKE!

6. Lee A. Allbright ChFC Says:
   August 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

   Mrs Pelsoi speaks truth to power; the power of a very well funded and organized health insuranace industry. May I suggest readers check the Sunlight Foundation(www.sunlightfoundation.com) website to get information that may be more complete and more objective than the spin we get from our industry news sources. Health care reform is a huge issue in our society – very important for all of us!I hope folks in our industry don’t just hunker down in the same old self interest dressed in phoney altruism.

7. Guillermo Hernandez Says:
   August 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

   the debate on health care should be left to the voter and no one else, It should be put on the ballot and let the people vote for it or against it. Put all the B.S of the special interest in the trash, that is where it belongs.

8. J. Eric Persun, LUTCF Says:
   August 11th, 2009 at 10:51 am

   Lee Allbright has it exactly right.

   It’s almost comical to listen to all of the manufactured indignation about how Ms. Pelosi has maligned us all equally with one broad stroke of the brush. That could not be further from the truth than some of the outright lies and distortions that the Health Insurance industry is putting out as fact.

   Sadly the powers that be in the health insurance arena have such a vested interest in keeping things exactly as they are that they are spending more than a million dollars a day to misinform the public. A million dollars a day… Let that sink in for a moment.

   Think about the millions of uninsureds out there that could use the help of a fraction of that.

   Instead the Health insurers would rather throw that money at astro turf groups to keep the status quo of not having to cover whole swaths of the populace. Pre-existing condition? Sorry no help for you… oh you’ve come down with something? We regret to inform you your claim has been denied and we’re dropping you…

   If you are lucky enough to have coverage provided through work, sit down and shut up. It’s not going to change under the new plan contrary to the lies you’ve been force fed by those with a vested interest in keeping the status quo.

   If you are fortunate to make enough money to buy private insurance, stop whining you still can keep it. But if you get laid off and get smacked with that COBRA offer and suddenly realize that the plan you were taking for granted at work actually costs way more than you can afford, well then by all means, do let us know about the evils of having options available.

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