Is Obamacare Crony Capitalism?

Scott Rasmussen writes in Real Clear Politics that there’s a reason why insurance companies in many states are asking for large premium increases this year: Because next year is an election year.

He writes that health insurance companies supported the Affordable Care Act because it benefitted them. The law’s mandates have added to their profits and increased their stock prices. So they’re getting the big increases out of the way this year, and then they’ll tone it down in 2016.

He writes: “For a corporate executive without scruples, Obamacare is a dream come true. Other titans of industry must be jealous that the insurance companies got the government to force every American to buy their product. More precisely, the government forced tens of millions of Americans to buy more insurance than they need or want. … One simple reform to fix this would let working Americans decide for themselves how much insurance they want to buy.”

Rasmussen’s argument doesn’t hold up too well to Arkansas scrutiny.

It should be noted that health insurance companies are not asking for enormous rate increases in Arkansas.

Testifying last week before the Health Reform Legislative Task Force, Sam Vorderstrasse, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s chief actuary, noted that none of the state’s insurance providers had asked for rate increases of 10% on the state’s insurance exchange. If they had, public notice would have been required.