Surprise! Surprise!

More than a few Americans were optimistic that "universal" healthcare legislation would tame the skyrocketing costs of healthcare coverage. I am one of them. Surprise! Surprise! According to the Los Angeles Times, "The new law doesn't prevent rate hikes such as Anthem Blue Cross' double-digit increase last year."

That's right.

Government regulators do not have the authority to regulate increases. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) states the obvious when she acknowledges that "it is a very big loophole in health reform." As it stands now Americans can expect to pay higher taxes to finance Pres Obama's healthcare legislation, while simultaneously paying more for their own individual coverage. Ironic? Jerry Flanagan, medical policy director of Consumer Watchdog, thinks so: "The irony here is that it was the Anthem rate increase that breathed new life into the healthcare bill. But there is nothing in this bill to guarantee that it doesn't happen again."

Perhaps that is the goal. If premiums continue to rise drastically, at some point it may become cost-effective for Americans to forgo buying their own healthcare insurance and to instead opt for government coverage. This would be welcome news to those politicians whose goal is to increase the U.S. government's involvement in our lives.

Maybe I am reading too much into it?

But maybe I'm not.

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