This week’s question at the New Mexico Independent Forum centered around Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico and its recent efforts to raise rates on individual policies relatively dramatically (in excess of 20% this year). As a policyholder with Blue Cross, I am impacted directly by this, but unlike government from which we all should demand close to 100% transparency, I don’t think hearings are the best way to decide whether an insurance company can or should raise prices.
The real issue at hand here is the need for federal market-based health care reforms and some at the state level here in New Mexico as well. In a competitive, market-based health care market (like car insurance), there would be no need for an elaborate, inefficient, and costly hearing system. Unfortunately, that is not what we have and ObamaCare is not a step in the right direction.
Health insurance companies also near-monopolies acrosst he nation [http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/new_report_private_insurers_consolidate_and_control_prices]
That’s why more regulation is needed to break up the big companies from driving up prices without competition.
Allowing health-care insurance consumers to purchase across state lines would be a big positive, in opening free markets. As it is today, a relative handful of insurers have a stranglehold on an individual state. This is NOT the case w/ the auto insurance industry.
Let’s open our existing markets, before adding more regulation. Haven’t we learned the lessons of the failures of government regulators, be it Barnie Frank’s House oversight committee w/ Freddie & Fannie, Chris Dodd’s Senate oversight of Countrywide, & the total failure of the SEC w/ Bernie Madoff?
Too many of those we select in government to provide oversight are in bed w/ those running those industries (in the case of Frank & Moses, it’s literally). Thus, opening up free trade is essential, because we can only trust government regulators so far.