Exchanges Are Mistakes...not Markets

[Yagents]

A "spot on" article, couldn't have said it better myself.

President Obama's Health Exchanges Are Mistakes, Not Markets - Forbes

Rather than offering free entry and exit, voluntary exchange, perfect information, competition and choice, the exchanges will simply offer more bureaucratic jobs to monitor the redistribution of tax dollars in the health system. And as Americans instinctively know, bureaucracies tend to fail; markets succeed.
That’s why, although this experiment is just beginning, we can hypothesize that the exchanges will fail. The states that complied with the creation of such a mess will be sorry.

 

[HealthGuy]

Its too late anyway dummies voted

 

[insurehound]

The Government will make sure that the Exchanges are the ONLY way businesses and Individuals will be able to buy insurance. You can see how they have already tipped the scales as the Exchanges will be where one must buy health insurance to get some of that "free money".

This is just the first step for Single Payor. Once a few years go by and the health insurance industry implodes, the Government will take over all health insurance.

Meanwhile the carriers are already lining up to dump their risk onto the taxpayer and compete among each other to see who will administrate the new Government Health Insurance entitlement programs.

Just my opinion. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Ann H]

Great article. One key point, which was extremely well written, is the following:

When Americans hear the term “market,” they think of free people seeking to exchange goods or services. No actor or planner “creates” a free market. Markets are supposed to be organic: They develop and evolve under the influence of many variables as people seek to meet the needs of others by exchanging labor or goods. Government has long elbowed its way into these free exchanges, setting rules and regulations for how buyers and sellers must act. Yet there comes a point when government’s prescriptions are so great, that they distort markets beyond recognition. The actors in the exchange are really just carrying out government’s dictates, not responding to the needs and desires of potential customers at all. The health care exchanges are meant for exactly such a bureaucratic takeover.

 

[AllenChicago]

Will the new Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (COOP's) exist within these Exchange "mistakes"?

An Illinois company has received $160,000,000 from HHS to set up one in this state.

Story: HHS loans $160M to Chicago healthcare group for Illinois CO-OP | Healthcare Payer News

I've read the article and also another thread in the Small Group section of this forum, but am still confused. Why would a consumer want to pay premiums to a Co-op when he/she can get a guaranteed-issue Exchange policy w/subsidy from a deep-pocket insurer?

I will be SO HAPPY when this government experiment collapses under its own weight of disarray and funding shortages! Hopefully sooner rather than later.
-ac

 

[Yagents]

Will the new Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (COOP's) exist within these Exchange "mistakes"?

An Illinois company has received $160,000,000 from HHS to set up one in this state.

Story: HHS loans $160M to Chicago healthcare group for Illinois CO-OP | Healthcare Payer News

I've read the article and also another thread in the Small Group section of this forum, but am still confused. Why would a consumer want to pay premiums to a Co-op when he/she can get a guaranteed-issue Exchange policy w/subsidy from a deep-pocket insurer?

I will be SO HAPPY when this government experiment collapses under its own weight of disarray and funding shortages! Hopefully sooner rather than later.
-ac

I believe the difference is an insurance company needs unlimited money to pay providers for service. A Co-op has unlimited access to providers to provide unlimited care. So, only if Co-ops can deliver lower cost coordinated care, will they be able to deliver lower cost premiums. Doubt it.

 

[somarco]

Co-ops have been tried before with very limited success. Too bad the Obama administration never bothered to research what has been tried, what already exists, and what has failed before embarking on this grand scheme.

 

[GreenSky]

Co-ops have been tried before with very limited success. Too bad the Obama administration never bothered to research what has been tried, what already exists, and what has failed before embarking on this grand scheme.

Are you suggesting that in addition to reading the bill they should have done a bit of due diligence?

Rick

 

[somarco]

Are you suggesting that in addition to reading the bill they should have done a bit of due diligence?

Did you read that in to my post? I must have been stoked on egg nog when I wrote that.

 

[SamIam]

I still don't understand why people will buy outside the exchange, will the premiums be lower???