This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
For the free market to work, you need rational actors, buyers and sellers who can evaluate how much utility goods and services provide and agree on reasonable prices.
When it comes to health care, we Americans are far from rational. We are idiots. We get less utility from health care than folks in other countries, yet we pay more. Way more. Absurdly, stupidly, indefensibly more.
There's a sucker born every minute. In health care, the suckers are right here in the capitalist U.S. of A.
Why is Tzadik hiring this person?
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I guess this is a good thing? But you have to wonder what kind of crap is
going on between City Hall and Tzadik?
3 hours ago
[Kyle! Activate your profile! We can't tell who you are!]
ReplyDeleteFreedom is priceless after all so even if what you said had merit the solution of governmental intervention would still deserve to be rejected.
ReplyDeleteThe implication should not be that we need to scrap private insurance, it should be that the government already regulates it and that is part of why it is too expensive. This should be clear from the reluctance of progressives to allow insurance to be sold across state lines. Picked apart, their arguement is that companies would not have to offer all the benefits the progressives think they should, which they find bad. So 'good' to them means people getting benefits without regard to the true demand or the consequence to prices, and already in part provided by the government. High prices are virtually guaranteed by this philosophy.
Roger, did you read the Ezra Klein article linked above? Countries with far more regulation than the U.S. pay much less for health care. Whatever their philosophy, other countries are getting great health outcomes for less money.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found anything directly addressing the reason for the differences in Klein's charts. I gather that they are likely due to price control measures used in other countries like Canada I don't see how such a policy would ever work without also addressing the high cost of a medical education and the high cost of malpractice insurance. Otherwise we would be destroying our supply of willing medical practitioners in an attempt to expand heath care. A little counterproductive to say the least. If you have any additional info on why those prices are so much higher here I'd welcome it...and don't just say greed.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer reform that actually kept the idea of individual freedom. These price controls seem successful but there is always an opportunity cost paid for using them.