Healthcare reform passes house, how long before a collapse in the insurance industry?

WASHINGTON — In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

The Colorado delegation voted along party lines except for Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey, who voted no.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13739348

I think we all knew this was coming. I am sure it will get made into law at this point in time. How long is it going to be before the insurance companies start to go bankrupt and then will also be considered “too big to fail” and like the banks and GM will then see a takeover by the government?

It may not happen quickly as this is a give to the insurance companies, Dennis Kuchinich is not a libertarian but  he recognized that this bill is another step towards corporatism. Here is what he said about it:

“In H.R. 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very industry that causes costs to be so high, which will result in at least $70 billion in new annual revenue, much of which is coming from taxpayers. This inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies — a bailout under a blue cross. “

Right now the government is trying to move towards a single payer system, yet the reality is that the real solution would be to move to a 300 million payer system. The only thing that could keep healthcare costs down is if individuals and their healthcare providers had to negotiate the costs with each other and leave any third party out of it for most circumstances. The government could make all healthcare related expenses 100% tax deductible for individuals, whether the money came from a medical savings account or not. The government could allow for interstate competition between insurance companies. There are a number of simple moves that the government could take that would accomplish two goals from a libertarian perspective, they could increase personal freedom and decrease the size and scope of government, and at the same time reduce the cost of medical care for individuals.

One move you won't hear much about that could reduce the healthcare burden on a nation wide basis is to loosen the “war on drugs”. The government could make more prescription drugs available over the counter, for every drug that moves from being prescription only, to over-the-counter, that is a savings of a doctors visit in many cases. For instance if you have high blood pressure and your doctor wants you take high blood pressure medicine for the rest of your life, why can't you just buy the medication over the counter? Why does your pharmacist need to keep getting the doctors authorization to refill when you have been told to take the medication for the rest of your life? It would be a simple move that could increase consumer choice and reduce costs. But with the nature of government the free market solutions are not on the table and the only solutions the government is offering are the ones that involve growing the government and helping out their friends in the corporate world avoid competition and force people to buy their products.

Comments

[Jake]

Dennis Kuchinich is not a libertarian, but only in the sense that Ron Paul is not a libertarian: both may not agree with us on all things, but I'd take either one over anyone else in Congress.

[David hogard]

A primary standard of the British regulations on health and safety is that the responsibility for their compliance lies with those who own, manage and work in commercial and industrial concerns. This includes the self-employed, who must themselves assess the risks attached to their activity and take appropriate action.

http://claimss.putblog.net/health-and-safety-in-the-workplace/