Price controls are not the answer to rising health care costs
I have no problem with the idea of government involvement in the health care industry. But Governor Deval Patrick’s decision to deny requested premium increases is not the way to go. Actions like this lend some credibility to the otherwise fanciful cries about a “government takeover of health care.”
As I pointed out recently, small businesses do have alternatives to paying ever-increasing health insurance premiums. I chose a lower-premium plan that offers a narrower choice of providers.
Fair market competition is the key to cost control in the long run. Last-minute government-imposed price freezes, especially those that seem arbitrary and perhaps politically motivated, introduce dangerous uncertainty for providers and a false sense of security for consumers.
As Atul Gawande just wrote in the New Yorker, controlling health care costs is a necessary but extremely complicated proposition. Governor Patrick’s “just say no” approach won’t cut it.
