Health Insurance Costs Still Soaring

[PETRUS]

The CEPR comments on the latest Consumer Price Index report:

The overall CPI rose just 0.1 percent for the second straight month, while the core rate rose 0.2 percent, also the same as the prior month. The increases for the last year in the overall CPI and the core are 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

<snip>

By contrast, the cost of health insurance is soaring out of control. The index went up another 1.4 percent in February, bringing its increase over the last year to 20.7 percent. Again, this is not the increase in premiums, the CPI index just measures the portion of insurance spending that goes to profits and administrative costs. These costs are clearly way out of control.

Read more: https://cepr.net/health-insurance-costs-still-soaring/

[FiveGoodMen]

1. And will continue to soar until someone stops them.

[PETRUS]

2. Well, yes.

Except I wouldn't say "someone" - dealing with this kind of thing takes an organized effort. One would think a government "of, by, and for the people" would be properly equipped to handle it.

[FiveGoodMen]

3. But the government is really of, by, and for itself.

"Someone" -- or many organized someones -- have to have both the power and the will to fight this.

Neither side has so far.

[PETRUS]

4. Also true.

I don't think I have too many illusions about the nature of power in our country (or the world). I didn't need a Princeton study to tell me that the US is basically an oligarchy.

On the plus side, there's a lot more grassroots organizing and mobilization going on now than there was a decade or two ago, which is what it will take to confront the problems with healthcare and any number of other issues.