The Insanity of Bureaucracy
Being a health care bureaucrat is a tough gig. It's not just long hours, or the dicey politics. It's, well, the bureaucracy—which can be very, very complicated, as staffers at the new office of insurance oversight within Obama's Health and Human Services Department are learning:
[HHS insurance office staffer Steve] Larsen also told the AHIP conference that HHS is trying to work around the "awkward" statutory language on rate review as it develops its reg. The way the law's written, it appears as though rates have to be deemed "unreasonable" before they're reviewed, potentially putting state officials in the tough position of reviewing rates to determine whether they're unreasonable before they're reviewed.
So in order to investigate whether a rate hike is unreasonable, it must first be deemed unreasonable? Gee, I wonder what the outcome of those investigations will be? Anyway, Larsen is right: That's awkward! You might even say it's unreasonable. Also, the first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club.
