Of Polls and Premiums
Liberal blogger Ezra Klein writes this afternoon about the Administration’s criticism of insurers raising premiums as a result of the new mandated benefits included in the health care law. He admits that the mandates will in fact raise premiums; “the bill’s cost-savings provisions [sic], meanwhile, come later.” To overcome (or, perhaps, deflect) the impact of rising premiums, “the White House is hoping that insurers have just put themselves in the middle of the fight again” – by pointing out the economic truism (which even Klein acknowledges) that economic benefits bring with them economic costs.
Also noteworthy is Klein’s take on the Administration’s political strategy, which “is a sign of its weakness. The Administration is picking a fight with insurers because it’s not been able to win the fight against Republicans. The health care bill is unpopular….The White House is hoping to recast the battle over the health care reform bill as reformers vs. the insurance industry…But that’s because they’re not able to run on the bill alone. The White House’s greatest achievement is not, at this point, a political winner, and that’s contributing to a very tough campaign season for the Democrats. [President Obama’s Wednesday] speech isn’t going to fix it. They’re hoping that the right villain will.”
The signs of the health care law’s political unpopularity do in fact continue to mount. Politico reported last week that “Democratic candidates are spending three times more advertising against the health reform law than they are in support of it.” Liberal sites like The New Republic have reported on the decline in the measure’s popularity. And over the weekend, President Clinton admitted he was wrong that the health care law would become popular immediately after its enactment.
All sides agree that the health care law remains unpopular six months after enactment – and imposing higher premiums is not likely to increase its approval. The question is whether the “right villain” in Democrats’ political equation is the insurance industry, or a law that forces insurers to provide additional benefits – and forces consumers to buy those extra benefits, whether they want them or not – all of which will have an impact on the premium bottom line.