Students are already getting raped by high tuition costs, high school books costs, every increasing gas prices, and little or no job market with minimum wages. So any relieve from predatory lender/insurance companies are welcome.

BW - While CEO salaries are obscene, from the standpoint of health insurance affordability they are almost completely irrelevant. The average CEOs salary is represented by well under a dollar a month on the cost of most health insurance. Also, under the new law, most students are eligible under their parents plan since few are over the age of 26.

As for the student plans, they should be forced to comply with the health care reform law like any other policy. If they are only for a definitive period of time like the school year, then it would make sense to prorate the current coverage caps to that period of time (i.e. current $750,000 annual cap minimum would be $562,500 for a 9 month school year). they should also be subject to the same 80% rule. There is no valid reason to allow for profiteering on the backs of students. I might see some relief on the 80% if there is a large percentage of policies that run for the same 9 month period. The companies need to pay admin staff year round, even if the policies only run for 9 months. The insurance company can not be expected to furlough their employees for the other 3 months, they would never get good people to work for them (of course I am thinking when the economy recovers). Maybe giving them some relief on the 80% would be in order based on the percent of their business that is in these student policies. Other provisions that are not effected by the shortened policy duration should be the same as any other insurance. The point about having to issue policies to non-students is a red herring and the schools and insurance companies know it. They are just trying to come up with whatever excuses they can as to why they should be let out of the new regulations.

I do not agree with much of the Obamacare plan, but do not support letting insurance companies rip off students to make up for lost profits.

I don't want to defend the insurance companies, but there were hearings by Henry Waxman and Ed Markey (hardly 2 pro insurance guys). At these hearings were officials representing the major health care insurers in this country. These hearings were some of the few televised on CSPAN. Everyone took shots at the insurance execs. They stated the ROI on the premium dollar. It was in the low single digits. The congress subpoenaed the records.. and nothing was heard again about "insurance ripoffs". The fact is that most major insurance companies are heavily regulated by the states. It is hard to have them "gouge".

I want you to consider the following. Who do you think makes more money, a clerk working for CIGNA on processing claims or a SEIU government employee doing the same thing? When the government puts the insurance companies out of business and the SEIU takes over, then you will see rip-offs. But it will be too late. It is the old shell game..

I must say that there are indeed many insurance companies that rip off folks. Out here in california, it is difficult for them to do this, due to the oversight. But there is lots and lots of medicare fraud. I wonder what markey and waxman have been doing about that in the last 10-20 years?

Those insurance company "profits" are only reported in the single digits because they write off such a huge amount of income for overhead. All those giant office buildings? They come off the bottom line. CEO salaries? Same. Corporate jets? Ditto. That's why systems like Canada's beat ours all to heck for $$ per person for healthcare.

Data compiled by Health Care For America Now shows chief executives of the 10 largest for-profit health insurance companies took home about $228.1 million in 2009. What government workers pull down that kind of cash? And, again, every penny of that came off before those "profits" were reported.

@Julkie

"Data compiled by Health Care For America Now shows chief executives of the 10 largest for-profit health insurance companies took home about $228.1 million in 2009. What government workers pull down that kind of cash?"

You are right, we should cap their salaries. Oops! Salary caps on executives are what led to the compensation-by-stock-option in the first place(see 1992-1994 congress record). D'oh!

As the world's population increases, and the companies in every industry steadily consolidate, profits at each company (in terms of real money, not percentage of revenue) have nowhere to go but up... and larger profits translate to more and more obscene CEO paychecks.

Think about it.

The problem I find is when people are required to buy insurance and the companies are allowed to reap huge profits. If insurance is going to be legislated so that everyone must have it, then I want the best bang for my hard earned dollars.

That's not Common Sense, Dude.

Go crawl back under your rock.

You want fire protection? Quit whining and start your own fire department. Got robbed? Go into business as a private security force. Need groceries? Better get to working that farm.

Sheesh.

So, whats your point? Start a health insurance company? Takes allot of money and right now people don't have because the have no jobs, they're all going overseas. Maybe if the government would stop pissing all our tax dollars oversea on needless wars we could start reinvesting in the country but that would make sense and the policy makers that are controlling this country don't do things for the betterment of this country.

So you agree that lower taxes can help improve the economy, then?

This is just the first of thousands of screw-ups that will be found in the Health Law jammed down an unwilling America's throat.

It was produced by some of the stupidest people on the planet.

The Democrats had to pay Senators to vote for it.

Is it any suprise tht massive screw-ups like this are occuring? Blame it on the people that wrote it-- the Democrats.

"which apparently drove Eleanor to lesbianism"

Or was the lesbianism that made FDR and WJC chase the skirts?????

According to Hillary, It was Granny constantly reminding young Willie that his mom was the town tramp that conditioned him to chase skirts.

Thats right-- Hillary channels and talks to the spirits of overrated Democratic leaders

Nothing like getting to the heart of the matter. This isn't about the insurance companies, it is about the colleges losing an income stream. Why should students that have to buy their own insurance subsidize tuition and salaries for those that can get coverage elsewhere? A ridiculous ripoff in disguise by the colleges!

Also, mafia break both your legs to get your money if they can. The healthcare system in this country, supported 1/2 by the insurance business & 1/2 by the government already, cannot refuse someone admittance to the emergency room. So, after mafia break your legs, insurance backed hospital will fix your legs even if they don't want to. That only difference.

Billy - so you want to essentially dumb down our future by shunning college?

Where will we get our next wave of educated professionals, such as doctors and teachers, from? Overseas? Or should we just rely on prayer and other magical thinking to cure our diseases?

What exactly should our precious children be spending their time on? Working dead end jobs with no future of advancement? Marrying young and having a ton of children that the state has to subsidize?

I miss an America where higher education was valued and something to strive for upon graduation from high school, I really do.

Wow you have a skewed worldview. You must read Ayn Rand and think it's NOT blatant propaganda. It's called BALANCE. Too much "free market" leads to EPIC FAILURE just as much as too much "socialism" (as you would call it) leads to EPIC FAILURE. The epic failure that we're currently seeing in our economy is due to the pulling of our country's economy to the far right. Obama, while actually just pulling us back to the center, SEEMS as if he's a far leftie because he HAS to pull hard left to get us back to the center.

"Too much free market?" In what universe do you dwell, my friend?

Health care has been one of the most heavily-regulated fields of endeavor for decades. Remember the "FDA"? It was established in 1862.

If there was ever a "free market," I could buy health insurance from any company anywhere in the country, instead of just a handful big and powerful enough to put up with the laundry list of mandates imposed by my home state's government. I'd be seeing ads on TV telling me that with a fifteen-minute phone call I could be saving 15% or more on health insurance. Doctors would still make house calls if there were a "free market."

It's typical of communist agitators to blame the failures of hyper-regulation or regulatory capture on "capitalism," and use that as a reason to impose even more regulation.

It's a Holiday in Cambodia. The government will make you work with a gun in your back for a bowl of rice a day-- Socialism.

Don't you remember the Obamacare MANDATORY health insurance provision, enforced at the point of IRS guns (unless you're a Muslim or Amish - see HR3950 p.273 line 18)? The moment Obama signed his name, the whole concept of "consensual sales and purchase" went right out the window.

Right Mean Girl -- 12% Unemployed 30Million without Health Insurance -- who's buying their 26 year old Insurance and feeding, housing them Too! Want to adopt some kids "Lucky Mean Girl"!