The public plan option in the health care reform bill was designed, according to the Obama administration, to offer "competition" to private sector insurance options, to make them perform better. Investor's Business Daily had a look at the Democratic Health Care Reform bill, and found that the bill's authors don't want to compete without rigging the outcome.
When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.
It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:
"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.
So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.
You have individual freedom, and America is a free-market economy. Except for looking out for your own best interests regarding your health. Sure you can keep your current plan, but don't ever find yourself considering changing to your own insurance plan. It'll be illegal, and you'll be forced into the government plan. I wonder what threat is contained in the bill to deal with insurers and individuals who try to voluntarily enter into private economic agreements?
7/16/09 1600: Karl at Patterico's Pontifications tells it like it is.
When discussing his proposed government takeover of the US healthcare system, Pres. Obama always hastens to assure people that if you like your current coverage (as the overwhelming majority of people routinely tell pollsters they do), you will be able to keep it. However, if you lose your individual coverage, you will be unable to buy new insurance. And the mentality that outlaws new individual insurance may be inclined to do the same for employer-provided insurance in the future. Not that the Left will have to resort to that. If Obamacare passes, insurance will generally become a function of government. And any “public option” that passes will unfairly compete with private insurers — bypassing the laws that apply to private insurers, sticking taxpayers with hidden administrative costs, paying below-market Medicare rates (which in turn inflate private costs), and so on, until they have crowded competition out of the market.
And over at Instapundit Glenn Reynolds is concerned. He's reassured by a reader that, oh, you still can go buy your own insurance, but only if the insurance is run through "The Exchange." Which isn't all that reassuring, as it still means it would be illegal to contract consumer to insurance company directly. In other words, private companies will have to have their programs reviewed and approved by the government before being allowed to establish a government-supervised relationship with a consumer. Yecch!
