Saturday, May 11, 2013
Market Rules
Several of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a.
Obamacare, are commonly referred to as benefits. These include the higher age at which young
people can be included in family health insurance policies, the prohibition
against denying health insurance coverage on the basis of pre-existing
conditions, and the abolition of ceilings on the dollar amount of health
insurance benefits.
Calling these provisions benefits is accurate, but they also
serve another purpose. They begin to provide
a structure for a functioning market in the provision of health care.
If and when such a market emerges, competition should be
based on safety, outcomes, patient satisfaction and cost, with market success
being determined by performance in these areas.
Insurance companies and providers should not be maneuvering for competitive
advantage by lowering the age of children that can be covered under family
policies, implementing a pre-existing condition exclusion, or setting dollar
limits on benefits.
Whether we will ever have real market competition among
health care providers remains to be seen, but by establishing some rules
Obamacare is a step in the direction or making it a practical possibility.