FixHealthCarePolicy

Consumer Protections or Just More Government?

The President and fellow Democrats seem to be switching their message on health care – pushing for reforming health insurance rather than overhauling the entire health care system.

The White House is proposing heavy new regulations on private health insurance market under the guise of so—called “consumer protections.” Many of the policies suggested by the Administration and Congress would result in sweeping, complex and highly discretionary new federal regulation of the health care system.

Consumers need protections not just from insurers but from the government as well. Americans should beware.

Here are few studies that shed some light on the real impact these proposals would have on the marketplace as well as a Heritage Foundation piece on better ways to help consumers:

– Health Insurance Mandates in the States, 2009

– The Effect of State Community Rating Regulations on Premiums and Coverage in the Individual Health Insurance

– Individual Health Insurance 2006-2007: A Comprehensive Survey of Premiums, Availability, and Benefits

– Health Care Reform: Design Principles for a Patient-Centered, Consumer-Based Market

Tags: consumer protections, health insurance, reform, regulations