Senate Healthcare Bill Now Relies On Regulation
<strong>Without a 'public option' to compete with private insurers, the government
would instead police the industry. But do regulators have enough authority to make a difference?</strong>
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Although the bill mandates that state and
federal regulators review rate increases, it is unclear how the
regulators would evaluate what insurers want to charge and how
aggressively they would restrain the industry. "The public
option was really the best check on the industry," said Jerry Flanagan,
patient advocate for California-based Consumer Watchdog. "Though it was
small, there was an implicit threat to the industry that it could be
expanded.... And, unlike regulation, it allowed people to vote with
their feet and go somewhere else if they didn't like what insurers were
doing." Consumer Watchdog, the American Cancer Society and other
advocacy groups have been working with Democrats on Capitol Hill to
close some loopholes and tighten the regulations before the Senate
passes a final bill.
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