This is a nice, concise summary on the bad policy moves made in PPACA and why it will not reduce healthcare costs from Megan McArdle at Bloomberg:
[B]y the time [PPACA] passed, the debate had pretty well established that few to none of [its cost saving claims] were true. ...
- preventive care doesn’t save money,
- electronic medical records don’t save money,
- reducing uncompensated care saves very little money, and
- “reining in the abusive practices” of insurance companies was likely to raise premiums, not lower them, because those “abuses” mostly consist of refusing to cover very sick people.
But that information did not get communicated very well to the public. The administration reiterated that, in Obama’s words, “We will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan. Period.” They also promised that the average family would save $2,500 a year on premiums. There was no fine print about how some folks would lose their insurance, be forced into narrower doctor networks, and see premiums rise, even though they seem to have known what was going to happen. ...
