Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

Can anyone succinctly explain the benefits of having a market for private health insurance companies, rather than a single provider of health insurance (government, aka "public option")? Can a capitalist case be made for their existence? Does the lack of a large private insurance market in countries with government-provided health insurance cause lots of inefficiencies and waste?

There is no benefit. The benefit is for the legislatures who passed the law. There was no way that we'd get single payer here in the US because our Congress is very much in the pocket of the health care industry. As such, the markets were a compromise measure enacted by congress to make it easier for people to choose health care. Before Obamacare, it was sort of a black box where only HR people could figure out pricing structures and health care providers didn't really compete in any way with each other.

Obamacare did do some good things that needed to be done, but essentially, everything about it was a bandaid intended to kick this shitty system down the road to the next person who had to deal with it. But hey, at least health care companies can't just turn you down because you have Diabetes or are too fat anymore.

Obamacare has had one significant, lasting effect: culturally, the idea is now that everyone should have access to health care. That's the default. Bringing in a public option will be an easy, natural next step, if not for Clinton, then for whoever succeeds her.

I believe statistics say that expanding Medicaid added 8 million covered folks, about 15% of uninsured Americans, and otherwise Obamacare has only gotten an additional few percent of uninsured Americans to become insured. I don't think the norm is that everyone should have access to health insurance any more than it was before due to Obamacare's negligible increases in coverage.

[http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/10/obamacares-...]

Oh, I'd agree completely that, as an implementation of universal health care, Obamacare falls far short. I always say, it's better than what preceded it, but that is a pretty low bar to achieve.

(My own story: I had my gallbladder out in 2004, and from that time on was denied personal health insurance for BS "pre-existing condition" reasons...until Obamacare.)

But while the implementation is pretty poor, the idea behind it is significant: everyone should have access to health care. Not just tied to a job, not just if you've got lots of money. It isn't working great, but that's the goal at least.

I know there are still lots of people who come back with opposition to that idea (even in these comments a few people are trotting out the whole "universal health care is slavery" junk), but whatever, there are people who oppose all kinds of things. Obama shifted the playing field of expectations, and good things will come as a result of that. That's all I'm trying to say.