Markets work best when policies incentivize transparency and competition, and health care is no different. Ultimately, reforms will improve the quality and affordability of health care when policies empower competition, not when they continually increase the scope and burden of government mandates.
Following a depressingly familiar pattern, California is once again undermining health care competition in the vain hope that less competition will lead to lower prices. It won’t.
In its latest anti-competitive actions, starting Jan. 1, California’s Department of Health Care Services will be limiting competition for plans (called Medi-Medi plans) tailored to the dual-eligible population. Dual-eligibles are patients who are eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal (there are approximately 330,000 individuals on these plans throughout 12 counties). Depending on where they live, many patients will now have only one choice of insurer. Thanks to these new restrictions, health plans that have been providing quality insurance won’t be able to sign up new patients — not for any problem they caused, but because of a misguided government restriction.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
California should embrace competition to promote better health insurance
Wayne H Winegarden
Markets work best when policies incentivize transparency and competition, and health care is no different. Ultimately, reforms will improve the quality and affordability of health care when policies empower competition, not when they continually increase the scope and burden of government mandates.
Following a depressingly familiar pattern, California is once again undermining health care competition in the vain hope that less competition will lead to lower prices. It won’t.
In its latest anti-competitive actions, starting Jan. 1, California’s Department of Health Care Services will be limiting competition for plans (called Medi-Medi plans) tailored to the dual-eligible population. Dual-eligibles are patients who are eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal (there are approximately 330,000 individuals on these plans throughout 12 counties). Depending on where they live, many patients will now have only one choice of insurer. Thanks to these new restrictions, health plans that have been providing quality insurance won’t be able to sign up new patients — not for any problem they caused, but because of a misguided government restriction.
Read the op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.