The use of government threats wielded as a thuggish means of coercion and control, not surprising given that the Feds have centralized the nation’s health care financing and delivery systems, have begun. With some reports showing that Obamacare will increase costs rather than “bend the cost curve down” (don’t you hate that hackneyed phrase?), HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is warning insurance companies not to blame Obamacare for increased premiums—or else! From the story:
In a two-page letterto industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans on Thursday, Sebelius said insurers have been falsely telling their members that the reforms contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will cause premium increases in 2011. Sebelius warned the insurers that the administration will have “zero tolerance” for misinformation. “Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections,” Sebelius wrote. HHS will issue a regulation this fall that will order reviews of questionable rate increases by either state or federal officials. Any insurer that shows a record of imposing unjustified rate increases could be frozen out of the federally mandated health insurance exchanges that are scheduled to start operating in 2014, the secretary wrote.
Who the heck does she think she is? Obamacare prohibits companies from underwriting for different health conditions and requires them to accept all comers. That will require premiums for many policies to go up, or the whole thing will become economically unfeasible. Besides, the insurance industry is already regulated, and that includes the amount of premiums they can charge.
That point aside, this is really outlandish and unacceptable bullying from a high government official—particularly when reliable reports indicate that Obamacare will cause costs to increase. That is a debatable point to be sure, but one insurance companies should be able to make in a free country without fear of government retaliation.
Threatening to put companies out of business—because that is what would happen if they couldn’t participate in the exchanges—for expressing perspectives the government doesn’t approve or seeking to make a profits in a difficult market made worse by Obamacare, is beyond the pale and has no place in a free and open society.
