The Insurers and Obamacare

[Valin]

The Weekly Standard:

Political Corruption 101

JAY COST

Feb 2, 2015

 

I have just finished a new book on political corruption. The book takes a broad overview of corruption, across the whole history of the nation, explaining its typical patterns over time.The most pertinent revelation is how the government captures private interests, which in turn capture the government right back. Indeed, reciprocity is a real phenomenon in government. It leads inevitably to conflicts of interests, and thus corruption.

 

(Snip)

 

Now let us jump ahead to the present day, for our second headline, from National Journal, dated January 29, 2015: “Can The Health Care Industry Save Obamacare? / Hospitals and insurance companies are coming to the law's defense before the Supreme Court.” The opening sentence: “Health insurance companies and hospitals mounted an aggressive defense of Obamacare's insurance subsidies Wednesday, warning the Supreme Court that eliminating the payments would be ‘grossly inequitable’ to millions of Americans.”

 

Quelle surprise! Former enemies are now friends. How can this be?

 

As with so much else about American politics, it just goes to show that if James Madison predicted something, the smart money is on it coming true.

 

(Snip)

 

In every instance where it does that, the relationship is almost always voluntary. Nobody is coerced into contracting with the government, which means they only do it if they are made better off. And this gives them every incentive to lobby the government to ensure their revenue streams persist, regardless of whether they are in the public interest. That is, perhaps, the principal pathway of modern corruption. It is the massive, unbelievable, shocking conflict of interest at the heart of America’s body politic. It is why our government never seems to do much of anything very well.

 

And it is on full display with Obamacare and the insurers.

[clearvision]

Lobbyists, influence groups, and nice trips about cover getting to a congress critter.

[Cyber_Liberty]

Good article. A similar examination of our University system would yield the same results. Government naturally corrupts all it touches.