Health Care Reform Changes Not Likely

Although the republicans were voted in response to public anger about the health care reform law, expect no changes to the law other than those "friendly" to insurance companies and medical providers.

The individual mandate will not be repealed. In fact, the insurance lobby will ensure that the penalties for non-compliance are increased. This will be done as a "tack on" for some politically popular bill. The republicans will not have the political courage to restrain costs in healthcare spending. They will blame the democrats for the bill, while simultaneously revising it to actually make it worse. So by 2012 we will have:

1. No healthcare costs control board (Medical providers will lobby and succeed in getting it abolished)

2. Increased penalties on not complying with the individual mandate.

3. Lessening of restrictions on insurance companies (Minimum percentage spent on healthcare, etc.)

Sort of like the democrats given the right punch and the republicans giving the left punch and then both blaming each other for skyrocketing health care costs.