printHere is yet another unhappy installment in a BAB series of posts on the effects of the Obama healthscare, as these percolate throughout the economy.
This time it is “the collapse of the child-only market.” Reports the Wall Street Journal:
This week Democrats threw a six-month birthday party for ObamaCare—and the timing was only appropriate since it occurred at the same moment their reform annihilated a corner of the U.S. insurance market.
Democrats were celebrating the arrival of ObamaCare’s first regulatory wave, which was designed to land weeks before the election. These include mandated benefits like “free” preventive care (i.e., the cost is built into the premiums). Democrats think these “consumer protections” poll well, even though they’re already raising consumer rates across the country. But the most immediately destructive item turned out to be new rules governing private health coverage for children.
This week, almost every big insurance company in America—including Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, Humana, Coventry, some Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates and others—stopped writing “child-only” policies in the individual market. This is a niche product that parents typically buy when their employer health plan doesn’t cover dependents. The exact plans vary company to company and state to state, and the insurers will still offer family policies and make good on the child-only policies that they’ve already sold. But most won’t be writing new ones.
In other words, for-profit businesses are refusing to sell products that consumers want to buy. Exact data aren’t available, but the child-only market covers roughly a million kids a year.
The reason is a regulation that President Obama mentions every time he talks about health care, as he did recently in Falls Church, Virginia: “Children who have pre-existing conditions are going to be covered.” Insurers are now required to cover everyone under 19 when their parents apply for coverage, regardless of health status. The problem with this kind of “guaranteed issue” is that it encourages people, in this case parents, to wait until their kids are sick before seeking coverage.
This drives up premiums for the healthy, encouraging consumers in turn to drop coverage, and eventually it leads to what’s known as a “death spiral,” the industry term for an insurer with rapidly increasing costs as a result of population changes in its coverage pool. The child-only market is a particular death-spiral risk because it is so small and unstable, which explains why so many insurers left in a stroke.
If we are to believe a new AP poll—and my thesis in “Statism Starts With YOU!”—Americans “who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1.”
The fatter the feds the happier Americans are.
Politicians respond to money and polls. The money for political races largely come from the Parasitical Class of Moocher-hideen: the public employee unions, the lobbies, the military contractors, the agribusiness companies – and is overwhelmingly in favor of expansion of government. Yes, there is some money from lots of individuals worried about immorality, homosexuals, abortions – but the “traditionalists” are comfortable with Wars in Afghanistan, more F-22’s, and ethanol mandates. Industry associations such as builders and realtors want to keep mortgages cheap and subsidized with additional tax breaks. The money in politics overwhelmingly favors the “expand government” politicians.
Then you have the polls. What people SEE are benefits like Social Security to granny, public schools, government roads, Medicare. What is NOT SEEN includes deficits, those items not offered (like private insurance), inflated money, distant wars fought by mercenaries, and restrictions on freedom.
Hence, the Republicans come out with their holy PLEDGE and simultaneously vote for 4 pieces of unconstitutional expansion of government such as the “Emergency Medic Transition Act of 2010”. Democrats hope that HealthCare will be so addictive to enough people that Congress will never dare to touch it (e.g. another sacred-cow “Third Rail” as in Social Security).
Besides, when 30% of government is sponsored by taxing our children (debt), it sounds like a good bargain! Paying $2 for $ 3 of government is a great deal.