Earlier this week, President Obama conducted a press conference to try and build support for his faltering health care reform plan:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Take-the-red-pill-Mr-President-51473502.html

One of the more interesting comments he made was that his plan would save money. “If there’s a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half price for the thing that’s going to make you well?” he asked.

What makes this comment interesting is that it’s so absurd. Health care’s challenge isn’t shifting to blue pills. We already do that now. It’s called generic brand medicine.

No, health care’s problem is that there are too many regulations imposed by government. Depending on the state you live in, your health care plan has dozens and maybe hundreds of regulations imposed on it. One of my favorite examples is that in some states health plans are required to cover acupuncture!

These regulations may seem harmless. But each time a regulation is added onto a health plan, the cost of that plan goes up.

So what will happen when the new Obama plan adds new regulations? The price will go up again whether we use the blue pill or the red pill.