At a television Town Hall Meeting on ABC, Dianne Sawyer asked private insurers if the Obama public option will afftect premiums and profits of their industry. Insurance executives are saying that it is difficult to comment about a govenment plan that has the government as a referee. Ms. Sawyer spoke as if the public option will cause a rise in these premiums of private insurers. Ms. Sawyer also comented that the publilc option may force private insurers to become more honest.

 An insurance executive from Aetna stated that there is private insurance scrutiny about the public option plan in the Obama Health Care Reform Bill. He stated that most insurance companies are against a government run health care system but will work strategically to do their part if the Obama Health Care Reform Bill becomes law.The bill is due to be signed into law September 15,2009, though there are pundits who think that the health care reform may not meet the deadline as President Obama would hope. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, says that it is highly unlikely for the health care reform bill to be passed into law without the public option.

So what does the private insurers think of the Obama Health Care Reform bill? Most insurance executives are against a government run health care industry as reported by Forbes publication. However, most insurance executives favor a universal health care system. These insurance executives also approves having health care available to all Americans. Insurance executives think that insurance premiums can be lowered with standardized payments among insurers, doctors and hospitals.

Insurance companies have profited by insuring fewer people so some of the insurance executives' statement of insurance for all Americans is ambiguous. During the years between 2001 and 2006, Aetna insurance company gained $1.7 bilionin profits by opposing what the insurance executives spoke about of insuring all Americans and dumped millions of members. Aetna insurance company as reported by Forbes magazine has lost about $266 million from 1999 to 2004. Aetna membership dropped about 8 million members during that time period. Aetna insurance executives claim that customers left voluntary when premiums were raised to lower costs and to increase profits. the insurance executives are saying that their companies did not arbitrarily disqualify members in order to make more of a profit on insurance premiums.

Insurance executives say that the insurance industry is in a position for a shift in the insurance system. They are looking at the Obama Health Care Reform bill as an opportunity for insurance companies to work strategies to do their part to help insure Americans.

Insurance executives are saying that the public option insurance will negatively effect HMO's. Private Insurance companies such as Aetna would be least effected because the company deals with small businesses and individuals instead of large businesses such as Bank of America and UPS. The insurance executives think that the public option in the Obama Health Care Reform Bill will provide new opportunities for the insurance industries.