Sebelius Changes Her Mind About Kids

It seems like only yesterday that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the biggest beneficiary of health reform would be children. But her September 23 announcement that health insurers could no longer deny coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition rang hollow when all the major insurers dropped their child-only insurance plans. So now she’s agreed that insurers can charge higher premiums to high-cost children after all.

It’s hard to say which is more amazing: (1) The administration’s apparent lack of understanding of the economics of insurance? (2) Or the power the Secretary has to change the new health care law at will? (3) Or the willingness of the administration to change the law weeks ahead of the election in order to maximize its electoral impact. (See our previous post on McDonald’s.)

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