Impact of Reform on Health Insurance

A couple of timely articles that I came across today regarding unanticipated consequences already beginning to emerge following passage of reform legislation of U.S. healthcare earlier this year.  The first from strategy+business (Harvard Business Review) is interesting in its take on the system possibly evolving to a more "consumer-centric" system (as opposed to the current system where plans are marketed to employers).  The second is a more pessimistic long-term view on the overall costs of healthcare.

Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.

These and other insurers say Congress's landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.