[andy58-in-nh]

The large insurance carriers are being duped as well, at least those in their management who never truly studied insurance theory and got their jobs via the prestige college MBA route. (I refer to them as "The Illegitimati", but that's another story...) The key idea to understand is that the Obamacare plan virtually forbids the use of actuarial science as a primary tool of risk management.

By forcing health insurance companies to accept customers with pre-existing conditions and regardless of their ability to pay premiums, stable pricing becomes a mathematical impossibility. The effect of the legislation will be to increase demand for a service without a commensurate increase in its supply resulting in higher expenses and thus, higher premiums. If premiums are artificially suppressed by government fiat, the result will be scarcity; i.e.- rationing.

The laws of economics are not subject to repeal by either human will or government fiat, no matter what good or service is involved. The government does not care because its aim is not service or efficiency, but power, and the big insurers do not care because they have been bought off by promises of Federal subsidies and golden parachutes.

We can argue about whether this is Fascism or socialism, but the end result will be essentially the same: no choice and no competition.

[screaminsunshine]

Now is the time to become IRS and Lawsuit proof.

[Brad from Tennessee]

I agree with you. Ultimately there might be 5 or 6 large companies left. These will have to be underwritten by the government and subsidized because capital will move into other sectors and markets. Finally what’s left will be federal bureaucracies with corporate logos.

I think the insurers calculated that a public battle would feed the Democrat line that insurers were bad guys and win votes for a public option. This could have caused investor panic and huge financial damage before existing premiums and obligations expired.