[Dion]

The requirement, which would be coupled with subsidies to help those who could not otherwise afford coverage, is likely to result in tens of millions of new customers for the industry. The insurers have also argued that they need to have everyone covered if the industry is going to stop controversial practices like denying policies to people with pre-existing medical conditions or charging sick people much more in premiums than the healthy.

“From the insurers’ standpoint, that was a very positive turn of events,” said Rick Weissenstein, a health care policy analyst in the Washington Research Group at Concept Capital, which follows developments for investors.

Insurers also say they are worried about many of the new fees and taxes being proposed, including Mr. Baucus’s idea of charging the industry $6 billion a year in fees, in addition to taxing the most generous policies.

The industry also points to proposed cuts in payments to private insurers that now cover the elderly under Medicare — cuts that could amount to more than $100 billion over 10 years. “It’s a major issue,” said Ms. Ignagni, adding that health plans might not be able to continue to operate in some areas if the Medicare payments were cut too much.

While there may not be a government-run plan, “there might be something just as bad — regulation and limits of profits,” said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst for Pali Capital in New York. Mr. Obama’s insistence that insurance companies would no longer be able to limit the amounts they pay out in medical claims but still be forced to keep their premiums low could make it impossible for them to earn profits, she said. “I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/he.../11insure.html