BilmBlog500

"Paul D. Clement, representing Florida and 25 other states objecting to the health care law, responded that 'it's a very funny conception of liberty that forces somebody to purchase an insurance policy whether they want it or not.'" Quoted in a Washington Post article on Thursday on the final day of Supreme Court arguments about Obamacare. “I’m in good shape, I don’t eat meat, I don’t drink excessively, I’ve never smoked,” said Mr. Lodor, 53, who estimates he would have to spend at least $1,200 a month to cover himself and his college-age daughter. “The last thing I’m going to do is not pay my rent because I have to pay for some state-mandated health coverage that I don’t think I need.” Wayne Lodor, one of the (now only) 2% of Massachusets residents who do not have insurance under Romneycare, quoted in Wednesday's NY Times . I need to hire Paul D. Clement. New York State forces JABberwocky to buy Workmen's Compensation insurance for its employees. New Yor...

I don't know how the health care debate going on in Washington will play out. I've come out clearly in favor of liberal non-market approaches. And I'll admit that I want very badly for some kind of reform to get passed, please please please. My insurance carrier will be telling me soon how much the JABberwocky premiums will be going up come March, and in the meantime I've gotten the good news in a letter entitled "Supporting member health and affordability" that they plan to make our coverage worse. With that title to the letter, on the outside of the envelope, what else could it mean! Copays will go up. If I need a wheelchair or other orthotics, prosthetics or durable medical equipment, I'll get to pay 20% of the cost, and there doesn't seem to be any limit to the size of that co-pay. There are new co-pays for ambulances chemo, and radiation. If I need a wheelchair and have to pay 20% of the cost, it's safe to say I'll look to go to Jo...

I'm utterly baffled by this belief in the salubrious effects of taxing employer provided health insurance benefits. The more ardent free marketeers love to tout the benefits of treating health care as a consumer driven market like deciding whether to go to McD's or Subway for dinner. We've been told how if we can just get consumers more involved with their health care costs will come down as consumers make better decisions. I don't think higher co-pays, deductibles, etc. really do that, though, because too much health care is done when the need is urgent, which does not lend itself to comparison shopping. Too much health care, well it's your life that's at stake so if the doctor tells you to take Tests x/y/z and Drugs q/r/s there's a certain reluctance to challenge the experts. The argument for taxing health insurance is, simply put, that since it isn't taxed it costs less than it would if it was taxed. And since it costs less, we therefore spend too...