It’s almost as if Colorado Democrats are trying to actively destroy what’s left of the private health-insurance market so that they can later impose socialized medicine. Yet, even though a Democratic plan to impose price controls should be an April Fools’ joke, these legislators seem to be deadly serious, with an emphasis on the term “deadly.”
The AP reports: “Democrats plan to introduce a package of bills to require health insurance firms [in part] to get prior approval for rate hikes…”
This is the same legislature that has imposed various mandates on insurance benefits, thereby driving up the cost of insurance.
It’s just hard for me to believe that Democrats are this ignorant of basic economics. What is driving the artificial inflation of health-insurance costs is precisely the large collection of political controls over insurance. If it weren’t for those controls, health insurance would cost far less, and many more people could afford it. But the Democrats have, so far as I have heard, expressed zero interest in repealing those controls. So what will happen if politicians add price controls to the mix? The result will be a shortage: fewer people will be able to obtain health insurance.
These Democrats seem to forget that a market price is determined by both consumers and producers. And both parties have the right to participate in arrangements by voluntary choice, without political meddling.
Note to Democrats: if you’d get a clue about economics and figure out that politicians do a horrible job of running the economy, you would pick up voters like me in a heart-beat. As I’ve recently discussed, I’ve already started voting for Democrats just because I’m so disgusted with Republicans. But this crazy talk about price controls and the like reminds me that Democrats want to control my every economic decision just as Republicans want to control my every personal decision. Is there anyone in Colorado government who actually understands and cares about liberty? It would sure be nice to have the option of voting for a candidate who didn’t try to to run other people’s lives for them.