Public Menace (IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure)

IBD Editorials ^ | June 24, 2009

[Kaslin]

Health Care: President Obama defends his federal plan as a tool to "discipline" private insurers. If that's really what he wants, why not set up a national market with real competition for a change?

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We ask the question with a strong suspicion of what the answer will be. It's that Obama, along with the liberal leadership of his party, wants something a bit stronger than mere "discipline" for private insurers. They're itching for punishment — to flog them for the sin of greed.

Obama said as much in his press conference Tuesday when he accused the insurers of putting profits before people: "Too often, insurance companies have been spending more time thinking about how to take premiums and then avoid providing people coverage than they have been thinking about, 'How can we make sure that insurance is there, health care is there, when families need it?' "

Obama makes the public option sound almost like a favor to free enterprise. As he described it Tuesday, the plan would teach private insurers how to cut costs and provide better service. If the plan "is able to reduce administrative costs significantly, then you know what, I'd like the insurance companies to take note and say, 'Hey, if the public plan can do that, why can't we?' "

Economics and politics suggest a different outcome, in which the public plan grows at the expense of the private market until it's the only choice available to consumers.

First, to be a catalyst for healthy change in a private market, it would have to stay small enough to be subject to competitive discipline. It can't gain such a big share of the market that no one else can match its economies of scale and its purchasing power.

[Kaslin]

I have been posting IBD Editorials for almost 3 years and will now start a ping list

Please freep mail me if you want to be on the IBD Editorial ping list

[kabar]

I wonder why no one challenges Obama when he talks about a government health plan being a check on private insurance companies as though they are playing on a level playing field.

Personnel costs are one of the biggest expenditures of any private company. A government health plan will have the personnel costs paid by the taxpayer. How can any private company compete against that?

[blaveda]

I’m in for the editorials, they’re great!

[GivemeaBREAK!]

The libs said W invaded Iraq because GH Bush issues with Iraq and that Iraq tried to assassinate GHB. A war of revenge, just not true.

However, there is truth that BO is waging a war on Insurance companies because his mother had ‘trouble’ with them with her cancer treatment. Revenge and we will pay dearly.

You can always end a military conflict, even retreat but there is no retreat from the cost and damage to the economy with this healthcare debacle.

We will never be out of this conflict, we will pay forever in so many ways.

[Kaslin]

That includes our children and grandchildren

[GivemeaBREAK!]

Yes, it does, it’s so sad.

They will never get to know how great this country has been because BO is going to destroy it and tumble it down on top them, and force them to pay very high taxes to finance its destruction.