Markos: Remove mandate, or kill this bill

[Joanne98]

Markos at DailyKos argues that the Senate health care bill should be killed, unless the individual mandate is removed. The individual mandate is the provision requiring every American to buy insurance, or face a stiff fine.

Markos raises the point that there is nothing in the bill to stop insurance companies from raising through the roof the rates they charge the new 30m people who currently don't have insurance, but will be forced to buy it under this legislation. But one point I hadn't thought of is that the legislation actually provides the insurance companies the incentive to do just that. Why? Because no matter the rate the insurance companies charge, the government will provide subsidies for poor people that will cover at least some of the premium. So all insurance companies have to do is keep increasing their rates, and the government will keep pumping in more and more money into the subsidies, and thus into the insurance companies' pockets (adding to our deficit). It's a total bail-out scam for the insurance companies, funded by Uncle Sam, and you and me.

Of course, the subsidies won't cover everyone 100%, so the part that's not covered will be a new federal tax on anyone who currently doesn't have health insurance and who isn't poor enough to get a 100% subsidy (as you'll be picking up the portion of the bill that the government isn't covering). And the tax will keep rising as the insurance companies keep raising their rates to get more and more federal subsidies.

It's an ugly scenario, and one that the insurance companies, not known for their ethics, will likely take advantage of. Here's a portion of Marko's post:

My take is that it's unconscionable to force people to buy a product from a private insurer that enjoys sanctioned monopoly status. It'd be like forcing everyone to attend baseball games, but instead of watching the Yankees, they were forced to watch the Kansas City Royals. Or Washington Nationals. It would effectively be a tax -- and a huge one -- paid directly to a private industry.

Without any mechanisms to control costs, this is yet another bailout for yet another reviled industry. Subsidies? Insurance companies are free to raise their rates to absorb that cash. More money for subsidies? More rate increases, as well as more national debt. Don't expect Lieberman and his ilk to care. They're in it for their industry pals.

If you want a similar model, watch how universities increase tuition to absorb increased financial aid opportunities. And since the Senate and its industry-bought Senators won't allow insurance premium caps or an end to the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption (much less a public option to compete against them), there is nothing keeping those companies from jacking up rates to screw people. In fact, that's been their modus operandi for years.

You might also like:

http://www.americablog.com/2009/12/markos-remove-mandate-or-kill-this-bill.html

[thereismore]

1. Exactly! nt

[TomClash]

2. I agree completely

The individual mandate is garbage. It discriminates against those people who do not have employers paying for their health insurance. It falls heaviest on the young and workers who cannot afford it and no "subsidies" will ever be enough. It's a new set of forced premiums for insurance carriers to collect and pocket greedily. When implemented it will be a nightmare to enforce and political death for any politician courting the youth vote in 2012.

[ixion]

3. Spot on, that.

:applause:

[Laelth]

4. Agreed.

Of course, the individual mandate is exactly what the health insurance companies want. That's what "brought them to the table." Without the individual mandate, there will be no bill.

To that I say GOOD! This bill is worse than doing nothing. It needs to be killed.

:dem:

-Laelth

[pleah]

5. K&R

[NorthCarolina]

6. This is the only part of reform backed by the Insurance Companies, they $paid$ handsomely for it

and I have almost zero doubt that they will succeed in getting it. In fact, by the time this is all said and done, I wouldn't be surprised if the public mandate was the only piece of legislation to comprise reform.

Oh, and the 1.5 MILLION per day the Insurance Groups have spent lobbying GOP and Conservative DLC/Blue Dog Dems; no need to fret, when this is all over they will adjust their rates to recoup these losses. No pain, no gain.

[tomm2thumbs]

7. the mandate will be taken to court - I don't see it surviving Constitutional challenge

I'm sure the Republicans are already getting their cases together and no doubt there will now be many progressive lawyers willing to jump in and offer their expertise as well.

I predict the mandate in this bill, as it stands, will die one way or the other

[dgibby]

8. He's exactly right.

K&R