Obama should remember HMOs

Obama's obsession with private sector health care costs should give us pause. We should remember the example of Health Maintenance Organizations, which were sold to people on the basis that they would save people money while improving their health by eliminating wasteful procedures and overuse of services (sound familiar).

HMOs worked. Health care inflation was zero from 1993 to 2000, at which point lawmakers had outlawed many of the practices that HMOs used to save money (like forcing you to get a referal from a primary doctor before you could see a specialist) and inflation reignited.

People came to really, really hate HMOs. They hated HMOs because the HMOs decided what care the patient could get, not the patient himself, nor the doctor. Doctors would recommend care, and HMOs would deny the claim. This was cause for a near revolution. HMOs were pillioried as putting "profits before people".

Now, how exactly is Obamacare any different than an HMO? Except that, with an HMO, if you don't like the service, you have an alternative. Once Obamacare bankrupts all the health care insurers (which it will, how can you compete with the government?), there will be no alternative.

Personally, I've been in one HMO or another since 1996. I've never had a problem with them, and have enjoyed their cheap prices relative to the alternatives.