Crass Market - Reason Magazine

Crass Market - Reason Magazine: "When Barack Obama pitched his health care overhaul last year, he declared, “My guiding principle is…that consumers do better when there is choice and competition.” But judging by the legislation he signed into law, his idea of a competitive marketplace is one that’s run by the government.

ObamaCare calls for each and every state to set up a “health exchange,” a highly regulated, government-run marketplace where individuals can shop for health insurance, by 2014. Each state is required to either show progress on building an exchange by 2013 or make way for the federal government to build and manage one directly.

These exchanges are the chief method by which the federal government will exert control over the insurance marketplace. Despite being operated at the state level (provided they choose to set up the exchange), state governments won’t entirely be in charge. The Department of Health and Human Services will have the authority to determine minimum health insurance requirements for most medical services and providers as well as cost-sharing details for plans offered through the exchanges. By the end of the decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 24 million individuals will be served by these exchanges."

See original work for more on this and other stories.