Bill the Insurer

Tommy: one post says health insurance fell 36%, by the official index. Dougie: then I'm buying ten policies. Town hall: insurance is cheap, get sick! Abe: Mayor, what does the index measure? Mayor Dithers: health. Abe: premiums minus benefits paid, so heavy claims make the 'price' fall. Tommy learned something today: it measures the insurer's margin, not your bill; the 36% is the poster's claim. Dougie: then I'll bill the insurer.

The health-insurance line in the CPI does not price premiums: by the statistics bureau's own method it prices insurers' retained earnings, premiums minus the benefits paid out, so a year of heavy claims shows up as a falling 'price' of insurance; that is how one commentator can point to a 36% drop over four years, a figure that is his claim.

Starring

TommyAbeDougieScarfTownsmanMayor Dithers