Over at American Catholic, Donald McClarey offers a “Pre-Mortem” on the Obama health care plan. I’m afraid I can’t share my Donald’s relief at ObamaCare’s timely demise. From the perspective of ObamaCare opponents, it seems to me that we are at the point of in the movie where the monster appears to be killed and everyone starts to breath easier only to have it jump up again and renew its rampage.

Here, for example, is a story hot off the digital presses:

President Barack Obama is retooling his pitch for legislation overhauling the nation’s health care system by emphasizing that any bill he signs will include consumer protections.

Among conditions White House aides say Obama will outline in visits to North Carolina and Virginia Wednesday are that insurers would be required to set annual caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses, fully cover routine tests to help prevent illness, and renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full.

Insurers would be barred from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions, scaling back insurance for people who fall very ill, charging more for services based on gender, and placing caps on coverage.

Some of the more sophisticate proponents of Obama’s health care plan have argued that medical care is subject to market failures involving things like adverse selection and moral hazard. It’s therefore worth noting that the “consumer protections” Obama is touting not only wouldn’t solve these problems but would actually make them worse. Prohibiting insurance companies from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions, for example, would raise the cost of insurance while simultaneously making it less desirable to have insurance if you are healthy. Both factors would exacerbate any adverse selection problems inherent in health care, leading to an increase in the number of uninsured. (Obama shouldn’t feel bad though, most government interventions in the health care market suffer from similar problems).

The fact that these provisions lack a sound economic basis, however, doesn’t mean that they won’t be popular with the public. Ironically, the nature of the political process is such that the harder it is to pass ObamaCare, the worse the bill will ultimately be if passed.