Daily Archives: July 6, 2012

Last week, the Supreme Court decided that it was constitutional for ObamaCare to require every American to have health insurance. Not in a while has a Supreme Court decision been able to impact every single American. While this ruling has a significant political impact, the impact on the healthcare system is more worrisome. Not only will this change healthcare consumption, but it will also create changes in the offer. Insurance companies will not be able to discriminate against high-risk consumers, and have to find ways to cover those that can not afford to pay. In order to meet market demands, payors will likely have to develop a set of products to meet emerging needs, undifferentiated from one another. As a result, it will be more important to optimize and differentiate on the customer experience to reach the expanding addressable market. What about the providers, that are already understaffed, and eating losses on charity care and declining reimbursement rates? Will universal coverage also change healthcare consumption, encouraging more people to seek care, and if so, can our system handle it?