The Law of Unintended Consequences

Here's a thought.  When Obamacare is fully implemented, and, in spite of the Tea party, it will be, there will be millions of people who will now have health coverage who never did before.  Those people were the ones who showed up in emergency rooms and whose bills were absorbed by the hospitals (or paid by charging those with insurance astronomical amounts). We have already heard that we will need young, healthy people sign up or the arrangement just won't work.  So now the insurers will be paying the bills for folks who weren't part of the system.

But here's what I am anxious to see: will the insurers start looking for ways to save money?  I think we can assume they will.  So, they will start campaigning against fast food, against HFC syrupy drinks, for more exercise, and, most importantly, for more gun control.  When these insurers start paying out thousands and thousands of dollars to cover costs to treat a victim of a drive-by shooting, they will look for ways to keep that kid out of the hospital.  Maybe the government will then have a group pushing for reducing gun violence that is as persuasive as the NRA is in pushing them to do nothing.