How long can health insurance companies stay in business under these conditions?

The networks are aghast that some congressman shouted out “you lie” when President Obama said illegal immigrants would not be covered under proposed health care reform.

But it is not the lie that people should be concerned about as they read the coverage of the speech and the ongoing debate. It is the logic. It is the economics. It is the business acumen.

“First,” the president said, “if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. (Applause.) Let me repeat this: Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.”

Never mind that three of the four mentioned coverages are already government controlled.

But then Obama spelled out what reform would require of previously profitable insurance companies:

“What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. (Applause.) …”

So, no one needs to buy health insurance until they get sick, that sure reduces the profitable premiums paid by the healthy.

“As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it the most. (Applause.) They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. (Applause.) …”

Arbitrary? Hypochondriacs rejoice. The well of money will never run dry. Only profits will.

“We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick. (Applause.) And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies — (applause) — because there's no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives. (Applause.)”

No extra charge.

How can you keep an insurance plan that has gone out of business?