There are many good reasons to have a deep conversation about how health insurance works in this country, because there is a lot of things wrong with it. What we’re getting from Obama and Congress, however, is a PR campaign designed to distract us from the fact that they would like to change not health insurance, but practically everything about health care itself.
Reports have it that Obama’s pollsters recently suggested that the President try to make the private insurance industry the villains of the piece. This has several virtues: it’s always rhetorically good to have a single, easily-demonized bad guy; and if it works, it conveniently will distract everyone from the fact that the true objective is far deeper than simply to make insurance cheaper for those who currently have none.
(What is the true objective? By God in Heaven, I wish I knew so we could debate it openly. But the true objectives of health reform are one thing Obama and Congress are keeping a deep dark secret. I can read legalese, but I can’t predict the unintended consequences of far-reaching thousand-page laws any more than Nancy Pelosi can.)
So the rhetorical device being used against those of us who would rather know what we’re getting into, as opposed to hoping blithely that the reforms will do what Obama promises, is this: the health insurance market needs some new competition.
In a truly remarkable moment, HHS Secretary Sebelius let the cat out of the bag this morning when she said that, although a public option isn’t a strict requirement, the President is committed to some structure that will, through the miracle of competition, induce private insurance companies to “do the right thing.”
But the President and Congress haven’t proposed anything at all that will increase competition. They could allow interstate marketing of health insurance and pre-empt the many state-mandated minimum coverage requirements that make this a sclerotic and inflexible market.
Instead, what is the proposal? First, a government-funded “public option.” Now, some kind of national system of “co-ops,” which will be functionally indistinguishable from a public option because they will similarly benefit from free capital, grabbed from the taxpayers.
These people aren’t proposing to introduce competition at all. They’re proposing to introduce supply. (If Obama, Pelosi and Waxman actually reasoned that too much supply makes prices fall, they can each have a gold star.)
But the market isn’t adding new supply today, because none is needed. Indeed, if it were legal to produce new lower-cost products without some of the features mandated by current laws, the market would produce that supply overnight.
It’s impossible to add new supply in order to equilibrate a heavily-regulated market at a lower level, unless you subsidize it. The Democrats are simply deluded if they think they can madly dash into a business that’s new to them, and simply figure out how to “do the right thing,” in competition with people who are professionals at health insurance and have been in the game for decades. They’re simply not going to make health insurance cheaper just by eliminating profits (which are necessary because they’re how you pay for capital).
And if the government decides to put its thumb on the scale by creating new supply (either through a public entity or quasi-public co-ops) with capital that is completely cost-free because it was taken from the taxpayers, they can hardly call that competition, can they?
The Obama Administration: Business-management Amateur Hour.
KnightsofMalta
Steve Maley
Caleb Howe
Public Co-ops *are* public option
briann (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:32PM EST (link)“Now, some kind of national system of “co-ops,” which will be functionally indistinguishable from a public option[...]”
If the liberals are now proposing the same thing under a different name, they are going to find the same reaction, perhaps moreso for insulting us by changing the name and hoping we don’t notice it’s the same thing.
Want to fix health insurance? De-couple it from employment. Health insurance is bought by corporate HR folk, but used by (mostly) other people. If the consumer and the payer were the same, insurance companies would act much differently.
-Bri
Health "reform"
DerKrieger (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:41PM EST (link)is actually easy.
1. Expand the use of HSAs
2. Expand the use of high deductible, low premium plans
3. Use the Commerce Clause to allow for the creation of a national market rather than 50 state markets
4. Allow individuals to purchase insurance with pretax dollars
5. Replace Medicare and Medicaid with prepaid HSA cards and allow or direct all recipients to purchase their own health insurance with their HSA subsidy
6. Stand back and watch the market work its magic
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
7. Address tort reform [nt]
Bill S (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:45PM EST (link)“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.” – David St. Hubbins
Absolutely
DerKrieger (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:49PM EST (link)good catch – how could I forget that one?
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
tort reform - what shape
jackhammer Monday, August 17th at 11:17AM EST (link)I even saw a huffpost article recently from some Doctor Toffel, which included many of the points above too….so the solution for sane people seems to be pretty standard.
But one question that still does get to me, is what form does the tort reform need to take? There are lottery style cases, but a lot fo the justification for high award amounts are anticipated health care costs for the victims of malpractice going forward. Soem of these cases are also Insurance Company vs. Insurance company to cover the future medical expenses that are considered to be the direct result fo the malpractice. What is the best way to actualyl handle this?
what you said...
larryp Monday, August 17th at 1:25PM EST (link)is dead on.
They wanted ideas. Here is mine, along the same lines as yours.
It gives the “governmentistas” their govt involvement…
Cut taxes.
The so-called refund (which is really the taxpayer keeping the dough), can be applied to the Health Ssvings Account. It is at the option ofthe taxpayer, us.
Our decisionr. If the money is put into the HSA, then the govt will match it to some %. Then we can withdraw money tax-free to pay for premiums or operations or co-pays. If we are healthy and don’t need the money then some % can be withdrawn each year after a certain age say 65.Not all of it, just some of it. But with the doubling of the amt every 7 yrs or so the totals will be very large, and therewill be money for illnes AND some retirement expenses.
The End Game
DerKrieger (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:38PM EST (link)…is quite simply…control. The elitist socialist believes he is uniquely qualified to direct the lives of 300 million individual Americans better than those individuals acting in their own best interest. It is truly breathtaking hubris and arrogance. They crave power like the nobles of medieval Europe. They do not care at all about resolving outstanding problems in the health care market, which they created, but only in taking absolute control over it. Their goal is obvious. They just will never admit it.
The history of Progressives is a history of incrementalism. They never take their eyes of the ball and always are moving forward. I recently finished Jonah Goldberg’s ‘Liberal Fascism’ and it is outstanding. It gives a very concise history of the Progressive movement and its totalitarian roots. I highly recommend it.
The fact that Progressives never abandon their goal can be seen today in the Democrats reaction to the overwhelming push back by We the People to Obamacare. Do they care? Do they seem willing to return to the table and invite the GOP? No, they float the possibility of passing Obamacare via reconciliation. Why? Power.
This is whyt we can never, ever compromise with the Democrats unless the compromise pushes back government. If we give them half of what they want now, they will be back for the other half in a few years. If we give them half then, they will be 3/4 of the way toward their goal. Then it’s only a matter of time before additional compromises delivers them 100% of their original goal.
And then what? What will the Progressives go after once they’ve achieved government run health care? I believe the next target will be the private retirement system. After all, it’s an “unfair” system because those with means are able to utilize more fully options such as 401ks and IRA’s. The next goal will be to establish a new public retirement plan that ensures a “fair, comfortable” retirement for \all Americans.
Progressives never never stop.
What is our best defense? The Constitution. We must demand that all legislation be founded in the Constitution. If we can’t draw a Constitutional line in the sand with Obamacare we may as well forget it exists because the federal government will have broken completely free of the Constitution.
I suggest we remember Jefferson’s admonition “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
A fabulous quote.
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
I wish this comment had a recommend button DerKrieger!
nessa (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:57PM EST (link)nt
“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
Contributor to Unified Patriots
teh twitter
Outstanding comment DerKrieger. Jonah's book...
penguin2 (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 9:19PM EST (link)is excellent, I’m making my way through it now. You perfectly describe the Progressives and their unrelenting quest for power. If they succeed, it will destroy our nation as they will have nullified our Constitution.
We must remember they don’t have a conscience about what they are doing. To them “the end justifies the means.”
Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. – Benjamin Franklin
When Good stands up to Evil, Evil blinks. – Vassar Bushmills
Conservative Education: Suggested Reading List
Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots
The "It Is NOT In The Constitution" Problem
Ausonius (Diary) Monday, August 17th at 11:35AM EST (link)I agree completely with NO COMPROMISES – as I wrote earlier in a diary today (“No Prisoners”)
The solution of “it must be in the Constitution” is too facile unfortunately, because of the left-wing post-modern manipulation of language. The leftists have famously and with little difficulty found a right to abortion in the Constitution, just as they are finding a right to health insurance, and will no doubt find a right to die early.
With a left-wing Supreme Court and many leftist judges in the lower courts, we have no guarantee of Constitutional safety being on our side.
Ausonius: 310-395 A.D. Teacher, Poet, Consul, General, Farmer.
Personal Tutor to the future St. Paulinus of Nola and to young Gratian, heir to the throne during the turbulent final years of the Western Roman Empire. When his former student Gratian was assassinated, Ausonius threw up his hands and retired to his farm in Gaul. Rome was captured by barbarians 14 years after his death.
Cato@rock.com
I suppose "Do the right thing" means
6eorge Jetson (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:42PM EST (link)that at the DMV, ticket number 101 gets serviced next while tickets 102 through 301 wait. After all, it’s not the DMV’s fault that there are so many waiting in line.
5555. Every election cycle has an "It's the X, Stupid" catchphrase.
ColdWarrior (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 8:44PM EST (link)From here on out until election day in 2010, it should be, “It’s the Constitution, Sstupid.”
Thank you.
ColdWarrior
In 2012, will YOU become a “voting member” of the Republican Party in your precinct?
Where it all started. Twitter @kaltkrieger
Unified Patriots.
Learn how to GOTV at The Concord Project and at Procinct and
What's even worse
marshmom (Diary) Sunday, August 16th at 9:18PM EST (link)is that Republicans (at least some) are comfortable with the “co-op” option. What are they thinking? Don’t they know that this still the same animal, just with different spots?
This is infuriating. Now we not only have to fight the Democrats, but the Republicans too if they think this is acceptable.
The exhausting part is that this isn’t even my only grievance with this monstrous piece of garbage they call “legislation”. I’m not comfortable with the ambiguous abortion issue, I’m not comfortable with the whole “home visitation” for things like immunizations, child-rearing “education”, and the like. The whole entire bill needs to be incinerated then buried 6 feet deep.
Redistribution of the Nation's Wealth....
wolfgang Monday, August 17th at 10:40AM EST (link)…is the key to the motives behind Euthenasiacare.
Recall the sleight of hand that occurred in the Chrysler bankruptcy. Chrysler owed the bondholders, the Indiana Teachers and Police pension funds, some twenty nine billion dollars. Chrysler owed the Union some eight billion dollars. Yet, after the bankruptcy dust had settled, the Union owned 55 per cent of the company, the bondgholders 8 per cent, twenty one billion dollars, expropriated from the bondholders and given to the Union. Some of that will find its way back into the DNC’s coffers, another good portion will find its way onto the union members bedsheets after paying for the members’ Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra. Nonetheless, a goodly portion of the Nation’s wealth has been redistributed.
Recall also, Roosevelt’s TVA Program bankrupted the Southern Company Electric utility, wiping out its shareholder’s wealth.
The nation’s Insurance companies are some of the largest repositories of this nation’s wealth. Euthenasiacrae will cause a cash flow crunch in these companies, forcing some or all into bankruptcy. The Government under THE OBAMBI, being the humanitarian institution that it is, will step in under the guise of helping the people, seize the insurance comapnies assets and redistribute them to whomever it chooses.
Brand new BMWs and Mercedes to the folks in downtown Los Angeles and New York making less than18 thou a year. No problem. 100 dollar wagyu steaks for dinnner at the WhiteHouse. No Problem. Paying off the budget defeicit. No Problem. 500 dollar sneakers for the First lady. No Problem. Its the Chicago way.
government option
eyesopen007 Wednesday, August 19th at 4:20AM EST (link)We should not using the liberal’s teminology. We shouldn’t call it a “public option”, we should call it what it is, a GOVERNMENT OPTION.