The free market is under attack, especially from those that do not believe that all of us, the market, do not nor cannot make rational decisions that are in our best interests.
A ggod example of this is the current fiscal fiasco where the Dems are all crying "greed!" as the fundamental breakpoint. The problem, as in all post mortums, is that one has to examine all possible (at least, a good subset thereof) causes as to the influences across a timeline.
In short, context.
And in the current meltdown, I will agree – pure greed (as opposed to the reasonable self-interest in improving the conditions for oneself and one’s family) has played a role. The problem for the Democrats is that more and more, Government itself has proven to be complicit in this whole mess (as I and others have been finding and blogging about).
A couple of days ago, I put up a reason as to why one cannot denigrate the present healthcare system as a free market failure – as it simply is not a free market. While there are those, both in and outside of government, that decry the high cost of healthcare, they point to profit making entities, high cost of procedures and medications, and of salaries. Yet, they almost never talk about the role of Government in keeping that cost high by mandating more and more costs to be covered by that private sector over time.
In short, they lack a context.
I talked about this here in NH (and the Feds) as legislators have increased the cost of healthcare AND taxes. Well, as Doug and I often say on the radio, the politics that happen here are often mirrored in your location as well (e.g., the names may change but the stupidity remains the same). Thus, I give you this little gem that is happening in GA to add to the pile (H/T: QandO)
Why are your health care costs so high?
Well, here’s a hint:
Georgia’s top health agency plans to charge health insurers millions of dollars in extra fees to help pay for the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids programs.
Healthcare has to be restricted and rationed. The underlying cause is that it is NOT free to provide it and the costs are rising. And rising more and more as legislators, seemingly devoid of common sense when it comes to expenses, decide it is a great idea to give more and more of "stuff" to more and more people.
So, here we go again where Government has decided that their use of money is more important than people’s use of money. It has once again decided that it has to be better for it to deliver services than the private marketplace and this will drive people out of that marketplace…
…right into the arms of government. What right does Government have to just say "fork it over, private insurers, as we have mismanaged things so you have to pay for it?
But those insurance companies are fighting back, saying the fees will drive up rates for people with private insurance and possibly price some people out of their coverage plans.
Simple economic truths – as costs rise, that price change is a signal to all that a scarce resource is about to become more scarce. It is a signal that once again, priorities must be evaluated to see if one’s priorities should be adjust because of that change in price (as many of us did when gas rose over $4/gallon – miles driven by Americans bucked years long trends and went down as a "scarce" resource became more expensive).
At stake is $112 million the state says it needs because of statewide budget cuts. State health officials also say federal regulations call for the new fees.
Dr. Rhonda Medows, commissioner of the state Department of Community Health, said that without additional money, the agency may have to drop people from Medicaid and PeachCare rolls.
“We’re talking about cutting benefits to people already receiving them,” she said.
And that seems to be the mantra of Big Government.
Even in harsh economic times, we cannot do less. And our need, Government, to provide those services and products, must come before the needs of private individuals.
I have yet to understand why Government people believe that what they do must come before our needs! Or why they do not recognize that their actions may had an adverse effect on those they penalize?
But Kirk McGhee, executive director of the industry trade group Georgia Association of Health Plans, said raising the fees on insurance companies could have a similar effect on people who pay for their insurance.
But will that fall upon deaf ears in GA?
[snip]
Medows said these HMOs should pay this “civic rent” to do their share in supporting the societal burden of helping the needy.
"Civic rent?" How about rent seeking instead?
Of course, as presented, it is those hated HMOs which will be paying the "fee" or "civic rent". In actuality, it will be the members of the HMO to whom the cost will be passed. They will pay the extra 3%. And, for those on the edge, that may price them out of their insurance coverage.
Typical – sorry, but this moron needs a lesson in economics. Effectively, this 3% robbery is a tax,and companies do not pay taxes. Instead, it is a cost of doing business and will be, at some point, passed onto consumers. When I was a small business owner, I certainly did. I don’t know of a single business owner that doesn’t factor all costs into their pricing models.
Why? If they don’t, they’re no longer business owners.
This is not going to be a situation isolated to Georgia by any stretch. Government entities everywhere are going to be facing similar shortfalls in funding and seeking new and innovative ways to grab your money.
And as we see here, what happens in NH does not stay in NH. Seems like it is true in GA as well.
