I keep hearing in the media that there should be more competition among health insurers, and Congress seems more likely to pass laws to enforce more competition. How the hell does that work?
Whenever you pass a law, you are normally restricting some kind of activity. For example, there are laws that tell us that we shouldn’t murder people, that we shouldn’t steal things, that we shouldn’t drive through stop signs, etc. How do you create a law that requires competition? In what form does that competition take? The only time I remember a law restricting an activity that fostered competition is when Prohibition was in effect. Obviously, the creation of a thriving black market for alcohol was not what Congress was targeting with the Eighteenth Amendment. Is this what Congress has in store for us with laws fostering competition among health insurers? Will a black market develop? Or, will we instead have a new law of unintended consequences?
So, on what basis do we want health insurers to compete?
Do we want lower premiums? If so, how is a law going to achieve that? Will a law requiring lower premiums cause insurers to pay fewer and fewer bills in order to pass on lower and lower premiums?
Do we want everyone covered? If so, will that law also allow insurers to pass on progressively higher costs for the sickly in higher insurance premiums? Hmm, we can’t seem to have our cake and eat it, too.
Do we want better customer service? If so, how will a law that requires cost reductions lead to better customer service? How will a law that prohibits the refusal of medical procedures lead to lower premiums? If premiums aren’t lowered, who will be able to afford the coverage, and therefore, how many people will still remain uninsured?
This cry for Congress to do something to create more competition for health insurance is bogus bullshit. Anything Congress does to continue the current private health insurance system is going to do anything but foster competition, lower premiums or make health insurance universal. You can’t get blood from a turnip.
We need single-payer health insurance and we need it now.
Tags: Competition, Health, Insurance