by Marc Siegel
A month ago, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to the president of America's Health Insurance Plans stating that the impact on insurance premiums from "the new consumer protections and increased quality provisions" of the new health reform law "will be minimal ... no more than 1% to 2%." Sebelius warned Karen Ignagni that there would be "zero tolerance" for insurers blaming unjustified premium increases on the new law. Talk about subtle.
Sebelius' threat, though, obscures a larger problem: The new health care law mandates and extends the kind of insurance that breeds overuse, thereby driving up costs and premiums. And here I thought the reform intended to reduce costs.
As the details of this massive government-led health care overhaul begin to trickle out, let me be clear (to borrow the president's go-to phrase): The medical system is about to be overwhelmed because there are no disincentives for overuse.
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