Make Americans care about costs

Michael Cannon tries to shift the focus on the health care debate:

Make no mistake, America has an uninsured problem. As journalist Jonathan Cohn documents in his book Sick, the high cost of coverage produces far too many avoidable tragedies. Nonetheless, most reformers, including Cohn, focus obsessively on expanding coverage, despite the fact that many economists can find no evidence that it is a cost-effective way to improve health.

Simply expanding coverage would have little effect on the quality of care, health disparities, or how long we live, nor would it stop free-riders from shifting costs to others. In fact, expanding coverage through government regulation or tax-and-transfer programs would make our problem worse.

(via The Physician Executive)

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