Insurance supermarket risks : Regina E. Herzlinger | ****

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Insurance supermarket risks : Regina E. Herzlinger

Breathing a sigh of relief after President Obama seemed to waffle about the public plan?

Not so fast.

In the shadows lurks another potential doorway for federal takeover of your health care. Disingenuously labeled as an “exchange” — countless people wonder what the heck it represents — it is Uncle Sam’s Monopoly Health Insurance Supermarket: the only market open for those who want federal subsidies for health insurance.

Reformers claim that the tens of millions of shoppers on the centralized exchange will create massive economies of scale and that the exchange will simplify health insurance shopping. The Massachusetts government exchange, the Connector, is Exhibit A of efficacy. It has enrolled about 200,000 previously uninsured people.

But why do we need a government to achieve these results? Will competent, private-sector retailers not respond to the opportunity to serve millions of people spending about a trillion dollars in new subsidies?

After all, the retailing sector is a core strength of the U.S. economy. World-class entrepreneurs — Steve Jobs, Michael Dell — are drawn to it. Their competence and imagination — and our freedom to respond — explain why retailing has been a major contributor to U.S. productivity growth. As for economies of scale, entrepreneurs also can create them. Dell and Apple are Fortune 500-sized, but, unlike a government monopoly, they grew by winning consumers’ loyalty.

The moribund health insurance sector badly needs the innovations entrepreneurs would bring. Insurers’ sales channels are archaic — they have only recently opened retail stores in malls and ethnic enclaves, belatedly discovering that some consumers prefer face-to-face encounters for major financial purchases, and their Web presence is minimal. Their products are just as antiquated. This trillion-dollar market is dominated by one policy, a PPO, or preferred provider organization, whose consumer unfriendliness is indicated by its obscure name.

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Auto Insurance Quotes are Cheaper in Massachusetts ?

13.07.10

According to a recent study, in Massachusetts people get the most inexpensive auto insurance quotes. Compared to the rest of the USA, it is cheaper to buy insurance in a state like Massachusetts. In contrast the most expensive auto insurance quotes are found in the state of Louisiana. Most of Americans have a car, but owning it isn’t just a one time payment thing, even if you aren’t paying on installments, because there are many other factors that contribute to the expenses of a car.

People have to take into consideration the costs they need to pay for regular maintenance, or any fixes that occur when the car is down, and auto insurance is a necessary thing and it has proven to be something that has contributed to the consumer expenses from time to time. People sometimes wonder if they are paying the same insurance for their car as the people from other states. Auto insurance quotes are different from state to state and you would be surprised to find out that a neighboring state gets a cheaper insurance. InsWeb conducted the study that revealed Massachusetts as the state were auto insurance quotes are the most inexpensive.

Source: TauNews.com (blog)