An observation about the new industry-funded study saying health care insurance premiums will go up if we dare pass reform: this is perhaps more properly deemed a threat than a prediction. Premiums are, after all, set, just like any other price.They aren't magically reactive.
Are we really supposed to think premiums just magically go up, without someone saying "raise the suckers"? Apparently so: The firm that did the study, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (whatever happened to spaces?), said this about the study: "The analysis concluded that collectively the four provisions would raise premiums for private health insurance coverage."
So "the four provisions" would raise the premiums, not the innocent health insurance companies. Talk about avoiding responsibility. Yes, they have to protect profits, since that, not insuring health, is their raison d'etre. That is no doubt part of the equation to some extent. But are these industry folks not, in reality, saying, "Go ahead, pass your reform. We'll just raise prices even more"?
Of course, they've been raising prices dramatically for years without reform. If we do nothing, are we to expect that will stop? How dumb do they think people are? Even if one accepts the dubious conclusions (based only on certain provisions of the proposed reform, and ignoring others) of the study in question, are those very conclusions not a compelling argument that even stouter reform is needed if we are to have affordable health care?
It all begins to make sense if you understand that the insurance industry is playing the role of the Queen, while we are merely Alice:
"The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday–but never jam to-day."
"It must come sometimes to 'jam to-day,'" Alice objected.
"No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day: to-day isn't any other day, you know."
