Cato Update on Obamacare

Quick update of main issues, from the Cato Institute:

Wonder What ObamaCare Would Be Like? Look at Massachusetts

In today’s Detroit News, Cato director of health policy studies Michael F. Cannon explains that we can see what ObamaCare would look like by examining post-reform Massachusetts. It's not a pretty picture. More Massachusetts residents think the reform has failed than think it's succeeded — and with good reason. "Premiums are growing 21 to 46 percent faster than the national average," Cannon writes, and "Statistics on waiting times for specialist care in Massachusetts read like a dispatch from Canada."

Sorry, Mr. President, the Legislation Disagrees with You

"If you like your health insurance, you can keep it," is a frequent presidential refrain. Unfortunately for President Obama, the House bill contains several provisions that disagree. In an Orange County Register op-ed, Cato senior fellow Michael D. Tanner shows how the legislation could oust you from your current plan.

How ObamaCare Would Ration Your Medical Care

In the September issue of Townhall magazine, Cannon explains that although "President Obama is far too skilled a politician to admit that he wants the federal government to ration medical care, that is precisely what he has in mind." Take, for example, Obama's statement that when it comes to end-of-life care decisions, "I think we have to have rules." Cannon recounts different ways they could ration care, from explicit rationing to price controls to trying to have doctors do the dirty work.

Irrational Incentives in Massachusetts

The current issue of Cato Journal contains an article by Craig J. Richardson looking at how Massachusetts' mandates and subsidies have created perverse incentives for employers and employees. A $1,000 raise can actually cost workers more than $3,000, while employers face disincentives to expand and hire new workers. The current mess in Massachusetts "offers cautionary lessons for the United States."