In case you haven't noticed, The Dec Page has been relentless in its critique of Obamacare.  We have no love for it.  When talking or thinking about Obamacare, we are apt to go "Khan" and start quoting Klingon proverbs about how revenge is a dish best served cold (that's a Star Trek reference).  We wish it nothing but ill.  No Christmas cards will be sent.  No handshakes.  When it finally goes down in flames via SCOTUS, election, or eventual fiscal and economic collapse, the victory celebration will look a little like this.

However, let's take a minute to talk about the real problem with health insurance.  The private health insurance market is not perfect and we have never pretended otherwise.  The biggest problem is a problem that Obamacare does absolutely nothing about (and will actually make worse).  The real problem is that there is no price transparency in health insurance and health care in general.

When you walk into a store to buy bread, you know the price of bread before you buy it.  You make decisions based on that price information.  You may not buy the multi-grain fresh baked because it costs too much.  You can compare plain old white bread with the honey wheat and make a decision.  So too, when you buy an automobile, you know the price before you buy it.  If you are going to hire a lawyer, you want to know his hourly rate.  Heck, if you are going to buy insurance, you are going to ask me for an estimate or quote for its premium cost.  Price information is essential for a functioning market.

Take a look at your next "explanation of benefits" (a curious title, no? given that it offers no usable information other than the ominous box labeled "you may owe") and marvel at the disparity between how much is billed and how much is paid.  500% or even 700% differences are common.  Why?  Because insurers and health providers set their pricing in secret.  Patients, the users of the products and services, are ignorant of the prices and too often insulated from the costs.  This is the number one problem with health care costs and health insurance.  Fix this problem and you will fix the market for health insurance.  This guy is trying to provide a good start.   

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