Cal Berkeley Democrats

Post-Debate Thoughts

Last Thursday, Robbie and I participated in our annual Great Debate versus the Berkeley College Republicans. I’d like to thank both BCR debaters, Katelyn and Andrew, for appearing alongside us.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, Robbie and I did not get a chance to address some of Katelyn and Andrew’s policy proposals. Specifically, I’d like to say some words about malpractice reform and selling across state lines:

Malpractice Reform

First, it’s important to remember that malpractice laws exist for a reason. If someone removes your leg instead of your appendix, you should be compensated.

Even then, malpractice reform is a red herring. Studies have found that malpractice spending accounts for only 0.6% of health spending, and the impact of any changes would be infinitesimal.

Nationally, the Congressional Budget Office predicts malpractice reform could save $54 billion over 10 years. That sounds like a lot, until you realize that total health spending in the same period will be $40 trillion. $54 billion versus $40 trillion. Malpractice reform isn’t a silver bullet, it’s not even a nerf dart. The fact that it’s at the center of Republican proposals shows their dearth of ideas.

State Lines

There’s a reason we don’t allow insurance companies to sell across state lines. If they could do so, they’d flee regulation by headquartering in the least restrictive state. In other words, you’d have a health market that looks like the credit card market, in which companies move to South Dakota so they can ignore regulation. You’d have a race to the bottom, with the least regulated state making rules for the other 49.

We fix this problem in our bill. We do the same thing, but better. We create a national insurance marketplace, through which companies are allowed to sell interstate. The difference is, they’d be subject to the marketplace’s rules. The American people as a whole would set these rules, not the people of Utah.

There’s a smart way to do this, and a not-so-smart way. The smart way is a nationally-regulated marketplace, which would avoid a race to the bottom. The not-so-smart way is to give companies a free pass to pick their own regulators.

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P.S. I’ll have more health-care related posts over the next few days, so stay tuned!