Comments on: Walmart supports employer health care to raise rivals’ costs http://knowledgeproblem.com/2009/07/02/walmart-supports-employer-health-care-to-raise-rivals-costs/ Commentary on Economics, Information and Human Action Mon, 21 May 2012 15:20:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Health care policy, individual consumption portfolios, and liberty « Knowledge Problem http://knowledgeproblem.com/2009/07/02/walmart-supports-employer-health-care-to-raise-rivals-costs/#comment-8731 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:27:41 +0000 http://knowledgeproblem.com/?p=4893#comment-8731 [...] is why the political pressure and the threat of coercion that lead to this kind of result [Walmart's support of an employer health care mandate -ed.] is so dangerous and harmful to human beings and other living [...]

]]> By: libert http://knowledgeproblem.com/2009/07/02/walmart-supports-employer-health-care-to-raise-rivals-costs/#comment-8650 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:07:08 +0000 http://knowledgeproblem.com/?p=4893#comment-8650 A plan that would introduce a portable public option wouldn’t likely affect Walmart’s competitive position. Since the plan is portable, it would weaken or eliminate the employer-based structure of health insurance, leading to no differences in costs between Walmart and competitors. Thus, any capitulation by Walmart to such a plan couldn’t be explained by Megan’s story.

Regardless, isn’t the real issue in this story here that Walmart has sufficient buying power to act as a monopsonist purchaser of health insurance? If Megan’s story is right (although I doubt that it is), there is a strong case for pursuing Walmart for violation of antitrust.

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