eph221BobFThe problem with subsidies is that they are inflationary. Good or bad, healthcare providers work by the same principles as any other business. When you make tons of new money available to pay for their products & services, there is nothings to hold down costs. Insurance costs aren't higher because insurance companies are building greater margins. Insurance costs are higher because the insurance dollars collected have to pay more to providers that are charging more. In many cases, insurance companies are simply paid by self-insurers to administer/manage the process less expensively and with greater levels compliance than hiring specialized staff. Just like anything else the government makes money easy for, price inflation follows. Education anyone? The ACA guaranteed payment on behalf of millions of new "customers" with zero on the cost control side. There are options, but handing an industry a blank check to be paid by taxpayers and government borrowing isn't the answer. This is a common mispconception about healthcare. It's not fungible and therefore isn't inflationary. Keeping oneself healthy is something that happens only when we're sick. Each person will have a different relationship to that, therefore it's not fungible and doesn't behave like a normal market. It's the competition between insurance companies that we're after at this point, not necessarily competition between doctors. That market behaves like any other profession.
BobFThe problem with subsidies is that they are inflationary. Good or bad, healthcare providers work by the same principles as any other business. When you make tons of new money available to pay for their products & services, there is nothings to hold down costs. Insurance costs aren't higher because insurance companies are building greater margins. Insurance costs are higher because the insurance dollars collected have to pay more to providers that are charging more. In many cases, insurance companies are simply paid by self-insurers to administer/manage the process less expensively and with greater levels compliance than hiring specialized staff. Just like anything else the government makes money easy for, price inflation follows. Education anyone? The ACA guaranteed payment on behalf of millions of new "customers" with zero on the cost control side. There are options, but handing an industry a blank check to be paid by taxpayers and government borrowing isn't the answer.