Of course, Obama then goes on to list some of the changes that will be forced on insurance companies, and some of the things they’ll be banned from doing. And that, of course, is one of the things that makes insurance so expensive: government mandates. When insurance companies are forced to cover this, and banned from denying that, the cost of insurance rises.
Further, if the federal government is going to write exacting regulations that all insurance companies must follow, it’s no longer correct to say those companies are private insurers. They become arms of the government, obeying its regulations and unable to compete based on price or service -- and it’s competition, after all, that brings down prices and improves service.
So when he says, “all insurance companies that want access to this new marketplace will have to abide by the consumer protections I already mentioned,” Obama is really spelling out the end of private insurance as we know it. So much for the canard that if you like your current coverage, you can keep it.
So how can our country, mired in recession, afford all this? “We’ve estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system -- a system that is currently full of waste and abuse,” Obama said. “Too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care doesn’t make us healthier. That’s not my judgment -- it’s the judgment of medical professionals across this country. And this is also true when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid.”
Fair enough. Both those federal programs are, indeed, going broke. But if there are big savings to be had there, why haven’t our leaders done that already? The budget deficit this year alone will top $1 trillion, a number too large to really comprehend. Before the government goes off spending more, it ought to identify the waste in the current system and eliminate it.
Summer is over, and it’s time for lawmakers to go back to work. Having listened to the president, it’s clear they have a long way to go to develop a workable plan.