Legal Commentary

The Wrongheaded Belief In "The Market" For Health Insurance

By Big Tent Democrat

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is the legislative voice of the view, championed in the blogs by Ezra Klein and on cable TV by Dylan Ratigan, that "the market" can cure what ails health care in this country. Wyden writes a NYTimes Op-Ed arguing for this view:

The problem with these [health care] bills, however, is that they would not make the exchanges available to all Americans. Only very small companies and those individuals who can’t get insurance outside of the exchange — 25 million people — would be allowed to shop there. This would leave more than 200 million Americans with no more options, private or public, than they have today.

Wyden then argues for his bill - which has as much chance of passing as does single payer. Which is to say none. But even if it did become law, it would not work imo. The notion that insurance companies will compete amongst themselves in a way that will improve health care is simply a fantasy (See Scarecrow on the MA experience.) They never have and they never will. The only way competition would actually work to improve health care is where a public option is available. Wyden and his fellow "market magic" advocates do not care about a public option. Certainly their right. But they are wrong, imo. In any event, it is all academic as the Wyden proposal never even can arrive now, much less be DOA. It is a discussion about unicorns.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 17, 2009 (boomark / email).