Yesterday, I wrote a blog regarding the Department of Justice being used as a political tool. Among the actions taken was a recent move to open an investigation into Partners Healthcare System of Boston, Massachusetts to determine if the hospital network violated antitrust rules in its contract negotiations with health-care insurers. The probes concern whether the network took steps that may have raised prices and allowed it to squeeze higher reimbursements from local health plans.At this point, the legitimacy of the investigation is undetermined because so few documents or evidence has come to light.However, the political implications are clearer.Massachusetts is Patient Zero when it comes to the debacle of government control of health care. Forcing health providers to lower prices in one state will chill the ability of other providers in other states to raise prices, thereby, presumably, making Obamacare marginally less of a disaster than it will otherwise become.But there may be...(Read Full Post)