So, I have been exceptionally lazy with the Po- litical Science Columns as of late. Between gradu- ating, hosting visiting professors, organizing de- bates and enjoying Spring Weekend, spare time has been lacking.
Now, this is my last article for The Rotunda, and I could take the time to revel in angering vari- ous people, keep on promoting my thinly veiled libertarianism, dredge on about apathy or wax sentimentality about my time at Longwood; but I won’t because that would be far too mawkish and sappy, and I am anything but that.
So instead, I will discuss supply and demand and why the Affordable Care Act will only make health care more expensive.
The Affordable Care Act has been lauded as a money saver, and even the Congressional Budget Office has said that it will save billions of dollars in the immediate. That is true, and pretty much all forms of stimulus do this exact thing: save money in the immediate. But the long-term ramifications simply mean higher costs for everyone and more money in the pockets of large insurance companies.
Let’s look at how health care prices grew so high. During World War II, employers could not afford to pay for their employees’ salaries, so ben- efits were added in as a means by which to entice people into work. This made everyone happy, and prices were fair and dictated by the market.
Following World War II and a recession due to a readjusting economy, the federal government dictated that if an employer had a given number of employees, the employer must provide health care for them. As a result, health care prices began to rise.
When third parties pay bills, more and more of the product is consumed. If I had grocery in- surance that covered 85 percent of my bimonthly grocery bill, I would certainly not buy store brand water and Ramen. What we see here is how being disconnected from the monetary end of an issue makes one consume more.
A phenomenal study done by the RAND Corpo- ration found that individuals provided with free health care over the course of roughly a decade consumed exponentially more health care than those without free health care.
To compliment this, there is no causal link be- tween free health care and better quality of liv- ing or lifespan, and we can see this by looking at statistics between the United Kingdom and the United States.
But this does not answer how this will only line the already fat pockets of the insurance compa- nies even more. Thankfully, there is a simple ex- planation.
Let’s pretend that the Obama administration did not give passes on certain large companies so that they would not be penalized for not providing health care to the standard that had been set or not at all, and we will say that now all companies have to purchase health insurance, and even individuals must. This means that 48 million new consumers will now be entering the marketplace to purchase health insurance, and since this insurance must be purchased from somewhere, it will go to one of the massive insurance providers.
Now, you may say that there are small providers out of the state where you live that can provide for you, but the government does not like that, and it is illegal to buy health insurance across state lines.
Interestingly enough, Maine shucked off this unnecessary law and saw their health insurance premiums drop 60 percent in less than a year. This law has created artificial monopolies all across the United States, and in some states there are only one or two insurance providers that can charge whatever they wish because there is no competition.
We all have the same goal: to make sure every- one gets the medical care they need. The question is simply how to do it. Should it be accomplished by forcing people to buy into a rigged system that only benefits those at the top and makes prices higher and higher? Or should it be done to allow for people to shop around, allow for competition and reflect rue prices rather than the perverted ones set by intrusive ne'er-do-wells?
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
