There is an interesting pair of blog posts by Ezra Klein and Andrew Sullivan. Mr. Klein advocates a more centralized health care system while Mr. Sullivan is opposed to expanding the government’s role in health care.
Who do you agree with?
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http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/02/19/ezra-klein-vs-andrew-sullivan/trackback/
February 20, 2008 at 8:54 pm
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February 19, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Donald E. L. Johnson
I posted a comment at American Prospect that was rejected and lost.
As an economist, I’m sure you see that Ezra is asking the wrong question. He’s talking about patients shopping for providers, treatments and drugs, which is a straw man. The real question is, do consumers shop for insurers and policies when they have financial incentives to do so?
And, of course, the answer is, yes, consumers shop for HSAs, individual policies, and employers who offer the best health plans.
Under Medicare, Medicaid, VA health care and other socialized medicine schemes, consumers have little or no financial incentives to shop for insurers or policies, and they don’t.