Research

Regardless of what type of public option is or isn’t included in the health care bills, the prime factor which will undermine the Democrat’s health care experiment is the fact that it raises the costs of health care.  It’s not just that reform will do nothing to help, but it will actively hurt those struggling to pay for care.

The latest study demonstrating this fact comes from the insurance company Wellpoint.  Unlike other studies which looked at national data, Wellpoint looked at the legislation that’s been released and analyzed exactly how each provision would raise or lower the premiums they charge different customers in different states.  For example, the study estimates that an average family of four where the parents are each 40 years old in Nevada (Listen up, Harry!) would see premiums go up by 61 percent.  In dollar terms, monthly premiums would jump from $674 to $1088. That amount would be somewhat offset by new subsidies to purchase coverage, which are dependent on income levels and differ significantly in the different bills.  Regardless, that’s still a notable increase.  And since the Democrats are forcing people to buy coverage or pay a tax, Americans' pockets will be lighter.

A Wall Street Journal editorial takes a closer look:

“The story is largely the same from state to state, though the increases are smaller in the few states that have already adopted the same mandates and regulations that Democrats want to impose on all states. For the average small employer in high-cost New York, for instance, premiums would only rise by 6%. But they'd shoot up by 94% for the same employer in Indianapolis, 91% in St. Louis and 53% in Milwaukee.”

The numbers don’t lie.  Government-run health care means higher costs for Americans, and polls show they know it.