Check out the health care question Joe Scarborough cannot answer:
Video Cafe
What do health insurance companies, with their 30% profit margin and $230 billion in yearly profits do to benefit anyone? What do they accomplish?
Transcript of the exchange with representative Anthony Weiner. From The moderate Voice:
***
(time stamp) 2:31
Weiner: … people standing up at town hall meetings and saying, oh, you can’t provide a strong public option because then poor insurance companies won’t be able to compete. That’s a strange thing for a citizen to say. Most people don’t like their insurance company.
Scarborough: Well, I don’t know who is saying… [crosstalk]
W: Why are people against the public plan?
S: Because over the past six months, government growth, they believe, is happening at too rapid of a rate and they’re skeptical. I don’t think there’s been an explanation of how the government plan is not equal to a government takeover of health care, which we all know it’s not a government takeover, but that’s how it sounds to people.
W: Right. But I have heard people say repeatedly that if the government plan is too muscular, then they won’t be able to compete. Well, if they can’t compete, then they’re not going to get customers. They’re not going to get patients coming to them. And isn’t that what we want? To give people that choice? Look, the problem that we have here is that we’re trying to jury rig the system so that insurance companies still continue to make healthy profits. Why? What is an insurance company? They don’t do a single check-up. They don’t do a single exam, they don’t perform an operation. Medicare has a 4% overhead rate… The real question is why do we have a private plan?
S: Wait, wait. Now you’re sounding like you want the government to take over. You say why do we have insurance companies in the health care business, it’s because we are a country that is… we believe in free enterprise, if I’m not mistaken.
W: Well, tell that to people who get Medicare.
Now, skip ahead a little to 4:44 in the replay.
S: You just asked, Anthony, why have insurance companies that make profits?
W: What’s the value? What are they providing?
S: What’s the value of Wall Street companies?
W: It’s not the same thing. They’re not providing, essentially, a government service!
Now for the kicker… go to 5:15 in the replay.
S: It sounds like you’re saying you think there is no need for us to have private insurance in health care.
W: I’ve asked you three times. What is their value? What are they bringing to the deal?
(At this point, look at Scarborough’s face. He’s absolutely speechless and stares at the table for a moment.)
S: Again… I’m astounded by your question. It sounds like you’re suggesting that there’s no need to have a country that’s run on free market principles.
W: Time out. Let’s focus on one thing at a time. This isn’t a commodity, Joe. Health care isn’t a commodity.
S: You’re saying that health care is different than everything else.
W: Health care is not a commodity.
Transcript of this exchange here.
He goes into further detail later in the day on Hardball with Chris Matthews.