Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Waxman Just Loves the Competition
Rep. Waxman, fresh from his Waxman-Markey boondoggle, is turning his attention to health insurance….this can’t be good:
“But Waxman took the usual Democratic counterargument one step further and asserted that he not only rejects the contention that the public option will drive insurers out of business but that a competitive insurance market needs both public and private components.
“We want competition but we don’t want the public plan to win,” Waxman said during remarks at an event sponsored by National Journal, “because that would drive out the private insurance competitors.” TheHill.com - Waxman: Dems don’t want government to 'win' over insurers
Really?
The market is about winning: a public option not priced to beat private insurance offerings kind of misses the intended point, doesn’t it? Nobody buys from the government when a product of equal or better quality is available on the private market.
Conversely, a public option priced less than the private market takes over the marketplace. Look no further than the public option that is Medicare and Medicaid for an example – any such private offerings are now sold as supplemental insurance only.
As a long term member of the Congress, his public utterances of his understanding of markets are probably more a reflection of his ideology and a pandering to associated ideologues. I am charitable enough not to ascribe such displays of public ignorance as instances of his actual ignorance.
“But Waxman took the usual Democratic counterargument one step further and asserted that he not only rejects the contention that the public option will drive insurers out of business but that a competitive insurance market needs both public and private components.
“We want competition but we don’t want the public plan to win,” Waxman said during remarks at an event sponsored by National Journal, “because that would drive out the private insurance competitors.” TheHill.com - Waxman: Dems don’t want government to 'win' over insurers
Really?
The market is about winning: a public option not priced to beat private insurance offerings kind of misses the intended point, doesn’t it? Nobody buys from the government when a product of equal or better quality is available on the private market.
Conversely, a public option priced less than the private market takes over the marketplace. Look no further than the public option that is Medicare and Medicaid for an example – any such private offerings are now sold as supplemental insurance only.
As a long term member of the Congress, his public utterances of his understanding of markets are probably more a reflection of his ideology and a pandering to associated ideologues. I am charitable enough not to ascribe such displays of public ignorance as instances of his actual ignorance.
