Hurting the cause of universal healthcare
by David Atkins
It should be fun defending this:
Premiums on California's individual health insurance market will increase an average of 30 percent as a result of President Obama's healthcare law, a new study predicts.
The state agency that will implement the law, Covered California, said premium increases are most likely to hit middle-income people who do not receive healthcare coverage through their employers.
The figures released Thursday come the same week Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius conceded that healthcare reform could cause some premiums to rise. The remark quickly drew fire from Republicans, who say the law will be disruptive and expensive for the government and consumers.
People like me, in other words, who until very recently bought healthcare as small business owners or independent contractors on the individual market are going to get hosed.
On the other hand, it's great to know the Supreme Court is making sure pharmaceutical companies can continue to charge outrageous amounts for products created by taxpayer-funded research.
The worst part of this is that it's going to be very difficult to convince a struggling independent contractor/businessperson on the fence that the solution to this problem is more government intervention in healthcare--even though that is indeed the solution. For quite a large number of people, this sort of thing is going to make them more hostile to expanded social insurance.
The only way this resolves well is for a few big blue states to create single-payer systems. The sooner the better.
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