June 10, 2008
Stacking the Healthcare Deck
The state of Rhode Island likes monopolists, it would seem:
The other condition that Tufts needs to change is a state law that says only health plans that did business in Rhode Island in 2001 can take the health status of members into account in setting rates for small groups. As a result, only Blue Cross and United can increase premiums for groups whose members are less healthy.
Changing that rule ought to be an obvious step.
Readers should note that such regulations — questions of bias in their application aside — are one of the reasons that healthcare costs so much.
Hello Justin,
You know who I am since you insisted on turning your blog into its own version of a WWF "Face Mask Match". First off, I invite you to keep sending your readers to WWW.OldTimeLefty.Blogspot.com. Thanks for that and keep it up.
I'd like to remind you that the main reason that health care costs are so high in the U.S. is that we don't have anything like a single payer system which works so well throughout much of the Western world.
This is another instance of complaining about the speck in your neighbor's eye and ignoring the mote in your own.
OldTimeLefty