Sebelius admits ObamaCare will jack up insurance premiums

So how is it that you can pass a law mandating expanded benefits, including free preventive care, and mandating coverage for those with pre-existing conditions . . . all without raising insurance premiums?

Oh, turns out you can't, as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius now admits:

Ms. Sebelius’s remarks come weeks before insurers are expected to begin releasing rates for plans that start on Jan. 1, 2014, when key provisions of the health law kick in. Premiums have been a sensitive subject for the Obama administration, which is counting on elements in the health law designed to increase competition among insurers to keep rates in check. The administration has pointed to subsidies that will be available for many lower-income Americans to help them with the cost of coverage.

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The secretary’s remarks are among the first direct statements from federal officials that people who have skimpy health plans right now could face higher premiums for plans that are more generous. She noted that the law requires plans to provide better benefits and treat all customers equally regardless of their medical claims. “These folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time, and so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market,” she said. “But we feel pretty strongly that with subsidies available to a lot of that population that they are really going to see much better benefit for the money that they’re spending.” Ms. Sebelius added that those customers currently pay more for their health care if their plans have high out-of-pocket costs, high deductibles or exclude particular types of coverage, such as mental health treatment. She also said that some men and younger customers could see their rates increase while women and older customers could see their rates drop because the law restricts insurers’ ability to set rates based on age and gender.

She admits it now because the new, higher rates are about to come out and she needs to get ahead of it. But this is inevitable and always was. And her explanation really gets to the whole problem with ObamaCare in the first place. Far from being a better value because people get a "really fully insured product," health insurance is actually a horrible value for most who carry it - especially healthy people. People always complain about the cost of insurance, but most have no trouble affording car or home insurance because these products work in the way insurance is supposed to work. They protect you against extreme risk, but they don't presume to pay for everything. Your home insurance will cover you if your house burns down, but it won't cover the cost of shampooing the rug. That's not what it's for. Your car insurance will pay if you're in a wreck, but it won't pay for your gas or oil changes. You couldn't afford the premiums if it did. The reason so many people like high-deductible insurance is that healthy people can control their out-of-pocket expenses, while paying lower premiums they can handle and still enjoying protection against the type of catastrophe that would otherwise bankrupt them. Health insurance is the primary reason health care has become so expensive, and ObamaCare doubles down on the problem. It's no surprise to some of us, of course, that it's causing premiums to rise. There is simply no way to deliver what ObamaCare promises without it costing a lot more, and that's even before all the new taxes kick in. Those of you who never liked ObamaCare in the first place, you are vindicated once again. Those of you who nevertheless voted to re-elect the people who shoved it down our throats, yeah . . . why did you do that?