How Healthcare Reform Works in the Free Market

Okay, so when it rains, it pours. After not blogging for two months, I'm blogging twice in a day. A colleague of mine sent me this link last week with the subject line "Unreal." I would say it is not unreal at all, but very likely. If you wonder where the free market and the new health care proposal will intersect, be sure to check it out.

Summary: when Democratic Senators requested data from some of America's largest companies about their insurance cost increases as a result of the new health care bill, documents showed that all of them had considered dropping their employee sponsored benefit programs. Why? Because it would be cheaper to simply pay government penalties for dropping employees than actually paying for their health insurance.

Of course, the natural Democratic response will be to raise the penalties to attempt to make these companies maintain employee benefits, but anyone who has any experience paying for the rising costs of employee benefits certainly will understand the siren song of "free government health care."

Unintended Consequences

Want to get a better feel for what Georgia is going to be facing from a budgetary standpoint if the Democrats' Health Care Reform Bill passes? Be sure to read this Washington Times commentary from Lt. Governor Casey Cagle to understand what the bill could mean to Georgia and other states who already struggle to get the dollars they are promised for health care out of Washington (our local hospitals often then have to struggle to get the funds from the state).

While the President may claim that your federal taxes will not go up if the bill passes, you can bet your state ones will. A $2.4 billion unfunded mandate on top of an already stressed-to-the-breaking-point state budget will be a back breaker.