This issue existed before Obamacare 80/20 rule. In a free market the way for a profitable insurer to grow is by growing marketshare -- whether 80/20 rule exists or not. And the way to grow marketshare is to offer cheaper insurance. To offer cheaper insurance insurers have to push service prices down. Somehow this is not happening.
Hey, wait a minute, that's true. The McKinsey study predates the ACA and establishes the overconsumption narrative. The 80/20 ACA thing can't be the problem.
What's the financial incentive they had to keep costs high in 2010? You're making an extraordinary claim: health insurance companies are deliberately making themselves liable for provider costs in order to somehow benefit on the backend. You should have some kind of evidence?
What's the trend line since 2010? Since the 80/20 rule went into effect, has the rate of provider costs increased or decreased or stayed the same? If it hasn't increased, does your hypothesis actually explain any empirical observations?
If not, are you concerned this might be a just-so story?
