re: #257 jaunte

“I don’t have a problem with the government regulating what private companies can make, who they are required to cover, and how quickly they can raise rates, but those rules should be related to the real costs of medical services. I don’t think the single payer public corporation as a competitor to the private companies is the best option.”

So you chose regulation over competition. Not a choice I would make.

Medical costs began running wild after Congress passed legislation to convert the large non-profit insurance companies, the Blue Cross-Blue Shield companies, into for profits in the nineties. This eliminated the tough competition the for profit insurance companies faced. Don’t forget the health insurance companies base their rates on a fixed markup on cost. This means they make more money the higher the over all medical costs are.

These two facts convinced me competition would work better than more regulation. But I am prepared to be convinced otherwise.