Friday, July 31, 2009

Paul Krugman on health care

Paul Krugman has really been quite impressive this past year. His recent articles on why the free market can't work for health care are really first class...


There are two strongly distinctive aspects of health care. One is that you don’t know when or whether you’ll need care — but if you do, the care can be extremely expensive. The big bucks are in triple coronary bypass surgery, not routine visits to the doctor’s office; and very, very few people can afford to pay major medical costs out of pocket...The second thing about health care is that it’s complicated, and you can’t rely on experience or comparison shopping. (“I hear they’ve got a real deal on stents over at St. Mary’s!”) That’s why doctors are supposed to follow an ethical code, why we expect more from them than from bakers or grocery store owners.


Health Care Realities

Why markets can’t cure healthcare

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