”No, this is a terrible (but surprisingly common) argument. ” Well I don’t know it’s a terrible argument. You confirmed that there is a cost floor. This does

”No, this is a terrible (but surprisingly common) argument. ” Well I don’t know it’s a terrible argument. You confirmed that there is a cost floor. This does create a perverse incentive. Whether it is or any consequence is another matter. If the perverse incentive is pushing insurance companies to have their costs go up depends entirely on the market conditions, I.e what are typical profit margins w/out ACA and what are the cost of market entry. there could be an equilibrium where insurance companies want their costs to go up. There is another equilibrium where the allowed profits are far above and therefore ACA limits are meaningless. Now, you can argue that we’re in the competitive operating regime. Fine. But give me numbers And citations, not adjectives!