Unintended Consequences?

Raising the minimum wage causes a rise in youth unemployment which means fewer young healthy people in the health insurance pool which leads to higher health insurance premiums which causes public outrage and leads to health insurance price controls which reduces the number of insurance companies offering coverage which produces more bargaining power on behalf of the remaining health insurance companies which leads to lower incomes for doctors which leads to more doctors retiring and fewer medical school applications which means fewer health care providers which leads to a further rise in medical costs which leads to losses at the remaining health insurance companies due to the inability to raise premiums because of price controls which leads to fewer and fewer health insurance companies which leads ultimately to…..a single payor health system.

On February 22nd, 2010, posted in: Economy by Tags: