tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877221018800830362.post2679089154898568867..comments2024-02-22T01:35:03.164-05:00Comments on Cure Strategy (formerly, Serious Medicine Strategy): Is Obamacare Just an Ego Trip? A Power Grab? A Glory Op?James P. Pinkertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914344842339708576noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877221018800830362.post-46242751521677979122009-09-28T14:48:51.389-04:002009-09-28T14:48:51.389-04:00Fellow DC Exile,
As bad as things are, there'...Fellow DC Exile,<br /><br />As bad as things are, there's not an insurance company monopoly at present. In fact, the tax laws cause insurance industry "customers" to suffer imperfect competition, similar to what exists in the case of oligopoly (degree of oligopoly varies from state to state and employer to employer -- that's why the federal employee health insurance program works relatively well, i.e., there's lots of competition among plans from which federal employees may choose).<br /><br />(By customer, I mean users of insurance services, not necessarily the party that pays the largest share of the price, typically employers -- although both types of customer would benefit from increased market competition.)<br /><br />The basic economic concept of a willing buyer and a willing seller is distorted in the case of typical employer-paid health care, since employees may or may not be willing buyers of a particular product. While we probably can't accurately predict the precise consequences of KBH's proposal on particular institutions in the current distorted market, it's usually the case that individuals are happier making choices for goods and services on their own than they are having third parties do so. For price and quality signals to work as effectively as possible, the people with the most direct exposure to price and quality must be the decision makers.<br /><br />The travel industry analogy used by KBH may not be perfect, but it helps make the point about the power of market dynamics. Ideally, we would fix the tax system to make it neutral toward insurance structure -- and more to the point of this blog, also to create powerful incentives for Serious Medicine. That would be Serious Tax Reform, which we haven't had since 1986. In the interim, KBH's idea may be more attainable more quickly, although even a seemingly easy lift like health exchanges in Texas may need to wait for voter repudiation of the current ego trip proposals.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324057135846660452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877221018800830362.post-87730336482569226122009-09-28T14:18:07.660-04:002009-09-28T14:18:07.660-04:00RE: Paul
I'm afraid the corollary for travel a...RE: Paul<br />I'm afraid the corollary for travel agents in a so-called "health exchange" would not be the insurance companies but the insurance agents/brokers. They are the ones that stand to lose out. Insurance companies would maintain their monopoly.DC Exilenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877221018800830362.post-61052930471203898792009-09-28T13:06:04.361-04:002009-09-28T13:06:04.361-04:00In Washington it is all about Ego, Power & Cor...In Washington it is all about Ego, Power & Corruption.<br />Come the next few Novembers & we will exterminate the vermin presently occupying 535 seats. We the people are not fools. Fixing Health Care is as easy as: A, B, C, D as you cited in your last article.<br />We can start with the first bill: Losers Pay.<br />Until we see such plain and stand alone bills, we the people will not trust the Gonifs.<br />Keep plugging away Jim, Thanks!Peter913https://www.blogger.com/profile/01805602464724466047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877221018800830362.post-91016300689131697742009-09-28T12:53:50.819-04:002009-09-28T12:53:50.819-04:00And if you're interested in data, the whole wo...And if you're interested in data, the whole world looks like a data problem! With that admission, an op-ed in the Austin-American Statesman this morning by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, is an exception to the concern that the GOP wants to protect insurance companies. Excerpt:<br /><br />"A state-level health exchange would allow consumers to compare plans at a single shopping point. Just as many travel Web sites are a commercial compendium for multiple airlines, a health exchange is an online marketplace for health insurance coverage options. Plan information is presented in a standard format, and consumers can complete an electronic application and enroll online."--http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/09/28/0928hutchison_edit.html<br /><br />To the extent health insurance companies are similar to what travel agents were before the invention of on-line travel Web sites completely disrupted their revenue models, this does not, to put it mildly, seem to be a proposal that would result in "protecting the insurance companies." With health exchanges, insurance company revenue models would tend to share the same fate as travel agent revenue models. Travel agents have seen their ranks shrink thanks to more transparent and efficient competition stemming from increased choice and better consumer information. Smart travel agents have found ways to sell value to consumers by providing better service -- but in a more competitive environment resulting in lower overhead and better quality.<br /><br />Meanwhile, on the airline side, the one-size-fits-all government solution called TSA makes flying a painful experience and deters unnecessary travel -- the sort of travel that would enhance quality-based competition among airlines, which frequent fliers know is sorely lacking. Hmmmm, now that you mention it, having watched the TSA train wreck in the making, the ego trip theory has lots of applications.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324057135846660452noreply@blogger.com