Do you regularly read the Marginal Revolution blog? If you care much about actual economics, and especially if you are a student of the same (either literally or figuratively), you would be wise to do so. This typically excellent post offers a brief review of a book called Money-Driven Medicine, by Maggie Mahar, whose argument Tyler Cowen summarizes thusly:
I interpret the basic story as this: the American health care cost spiral comes from suppliers and their entrepreneurial abilities to market expensive and highly specialized services of dubious medical efficacy. Medical care starts off as ambiguous in value and hard to measure in quality. Customers are cowed by doctors and other family members into accepting or even demanding what is offered to them. Third-party payments make the problem worse, and government intervention has stoked rather than checked the basic dynamic. You end up with massive expenses, lots of stupidity, and — because of its expense — radically incomplete coverage. Every now and then the extra services do pay off, but not frequently enough to boost American stats on health care quality.
Cowen calls the book “the most coherent, supportable, and fleshed out anti-market story I’ve seen,” while acknowledging that it does not dovetail precisely with his own view. (FWIW, here is another interesting and longer review of the same book.) Regardless, Cowen’s brief review is studded with points that we all recognize (“massive expenses, lots of stupidity, and — because of its expense — radically incomplete coverage,” e.g.), and which, to my mind, crystallizes what many, many smart people have been thinking about health care for the past 10 or 20 years. The comments are also very informative, including a long and thoughtful response from Maggie Mahar.
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Dunno about you Americans, but the British system seems to be extremely efficient, and cheaper than the American system to boot!
Singapore’s healthcare is twice as efficient as that, and 1/4 the price of American systems.
Tim Hardford also did mention about this slightly in his Undevocer Economist – the US healthcare system is driven by insurance (I was WTF??? when I read that, lol)
Maybe I should get Maggie’s book to read
Dunno about you Americans, but the British system seems to be extremely efficient, and cheaper than the American system to boot!
Singapore’s healthcare is twice as efficient as that, and 1/4 the price of American systems.
Tim Hardford also did mention about this slightly in his Undevocer Economist – the US healthcare system is driven by insurance (I was WTF??? when I read that, lol)
Maybe I should get Maggie’s book to read
Free market zealots tend to forget the basic requirements of a functional market economy. To wit, rationality and information need to be available to the consumer.
Fact is, you’re not rational when you worry about your health. And you don’t always have a medical degree to be able to get all the information needed.
IMO a major problem is advertising. Advertising for health services and drugs should be completely banned (except possibly towards professionals), as it already is in most European countries, because by its very nature, it can only be misleading.
Free market zealots tend to forget the basic requirements of a functional market economy. To wit, rationality and information need to be available to the consumer.
Fact is, you’re not rational when you worry about your health. And you don’t always have a medical degree to be able to get all the information needed.
IMO a major problem is advertising. Advertising for health services and drugs should be completely banned (except possibly towards professionals), as it already is in most European countries, because by its very nature, it can only be misleading.
The thought that medical supply companies, insurance cos, for profit hospitals, and drug companies have managed to game America’s health care system to realize enormous profits by using their considerable resources to effectively castrate and even co-opt the regulatory system without also providing workable and affordable health care is such abhorrently socialistic tripe that I for one cringe to think what other terroristic threats you liberals are lible to come up with next.
The thought that medical supply companies, insurance cos, for profit hospitals, and drug companies have managed to game America’s health care system to realize enormous profits by using their considerable resources to effectively castrate and even co-opt the regulatory system without also providing workable and affordable health care is such abhorrently socialistic tripe that I for one cringe to think what other terroristic threats you liberals are lible to come up with next.
egretman’s comment raises another problem with health care – you can’t even have a discussion about problems and potential solutions, because if you do, you get labeled a sicko/pinko/communist/liberal. Sheesh.
egretman’s comment raises another problem with health care – you can’t even have a discussion about problems and potential solutions, because if you do, you get labeled a sicko/pinko/communist/liberal. Sheesh.