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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures." -- Daniel Webster
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011 :::
Blue Shield of California is raising its health "insurance" premiums by "as much as 59%", and cites a variety of reasons:But responding to this most recent increase the company said, "our individual market medical costs are rising rapidly due to higher provider prices, increased utilization, and the fact that healthier people are dropping coverage during a bad economy," the company said. That last point raises in my mind the question as to how much of the relevant adverse selection is due to natural informational constraints and how much is imposed by state and federal governments. According to Families USA, which I'm willing to trust on this question, California seems not to be among the states with its own community rating stipulations, though another website indicates a variety of federal regulations — I don't know how many of them are new since last March — that presumably contribute.
Another natural set of questions: How much would those healthier people be willing to pay for health insurance? How much would they be required to pay by an insurance company not subject to these regulations? Somewhat less interesting, How much are they being asked to pay for insurance under the actual system of constraints they face?Labels: Health Care
::: posted by dWj at 12:57 PM
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