NCPA’s John Goodman continues to explain ObamaCare’s perverse incentives. The full explanation is well worth reading here.
Of all the criticisms that have been leveled at ?ObamaCare? over the
past year, the four worst features of the legislation have been almost
totally ignored ? by Republicans in Congress, by the national news
media and even by serious economists. So you?re seeing it here first:
- People will be required to buy a product whose price will be rising
at twice the rate of growth of their incomes and they will be barred
from doing many of the things needed to control these costs.- A bizarre system of subsidies will disrupt the entire labor market
? causing massive layoffs and, ultimately, a complete restructuring of
industrial organization.- A health insurance exchange will give health plans perverse
incentives to attract the healthy and avoid the sick; and after
enrollment, to overprovide to the healthy and underprovide to the sick.- A weakly enforced individual mandate will give people perverse
incentives to game the system ? remaining uninsured while healthy and
obtaining insurance only after they get sick; choosing limited-benefit
plans while healthy and scaling up to richer plans after they get sick.
