editorializes today in favor of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act that is coming up for a Senate vote soon. I’ve talked about HIMMA a lot in recent postings. Its supporters argue that HIMMA will make health insurance more accessible and affordable to small businesses and, thus, lower the number of people without health insurance in this country. Opponents argue that it is a slick gimmick to allow insurers to circumvent state insurance protections and will do little to either lower insurance costs or provide more folks with health insurance. I lean toward the latter view. However, regardless of how HIMMA fares, it seems clear to me that something will have to change about the way people get coverage for medical expenses in this country. If you project into the next 10, 20 and 30 years the rates of uninsured and the costs of medical care and health insurance, I can’t see how we can sustain the present course. And even if its supporters are right in that HIMMA will lower the costs of health insurance for small employers, I can’t see how it will make a significant dent in our uninsured and rising health insurance costs problems.

BTW, what is up with the WSJ referring to ERISA as "Erisa?" The WSJ doesn’t do this with other statutory acronyms does it? Does it refer to the Americans with Disabilities Act as "Ada?" How about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act? Is that "Hipaa?" Just askin’.

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