Comments on: THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:39:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Stephen Hyde answers the question: Is health care a right? | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1730 Stephen Hyde answers the question: Is health care a right? | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:16:50 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1730 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: Fixing Obamacare: Part 2--The Individual Mandate | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1442 Fixing Obamacare: Part 2--The Individual Mandate | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:50:12 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1442 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: Fixing Obamacare: Part 1--What We Know, What We Need | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1420 Fixing Obamacare: Part 1--What We Know, What We Need | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:11:32 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1420 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: How Health Reform Can Work: Part 5 | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1300 How Health Reform Can Work: Part 5 | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:06:15 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1300 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: Steve Hyde http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1097 Steve Hyde Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:58:43 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1097 Steve replies: Regarding the above two comments, two things: First, an unregulated "free" market can't work in health care because of the economic reasons I state in my piece. However, a lightly regulated market can work very effectively to (1) allow everyone to voluntarily purchase necessary health insurance, and (2) to help eliminate the waste in the current over-regulated, failed system that consumes at least 3/4 of every health care dollar. Second, a nation's average life expectancy (or infant mortality rate) actually bears little relationship to the quality of its health care delivery system. I cover this phenomenon extensively in "Cured," (pp 272-274) but the short version is that "any medical effect is greatly overshadowed by other factors, such as lifestyle, cultural differences, diet, alcohol consumption, drunk driving, drug abuse, exercise, accident rates, and homicides." Ohsfeldt and Schneider have calculated that Americans who don't die in accidents, suicides, or homicides actually live LONGER than people in any other OECD country, including the overall record holders of Japan,Iceland, and Sweden. Steve replies: Regarding the above two comments, two things:

First, an unregulated “free” market can’t work in health care because of the economic reasons I state in my piece. However, a lightly regulated market can work very effectively to (1) allow everyone to voluntarily purchase necessary health insurance, and (2) to help eliminate the waste in the current over-regulated, failed system that consumes at least 3/4 of every health care dollar.

Second, a nation’s average life expectancy (or infant mortality rate) actually bears little relationship to the quality of its health care delivery system. I cover this phenomenon extensively in “Cured,” (pp 272-274) but the short version is that “any medical effect is greatly overshadowed by other factors, such as lifestyle, cultural differences, diet, alcohol consumption, drunk driving, drug abuse, exercise, accident rates, and homicides.” Ohsfeldt and Schneider have calculated that Americans who don’t die in accidents, suicides, or homicides actually live LONGER than people in any other OECD country, including the overall record holders of Japan,Iceland, and Sweden.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-1092 Anonymous Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:15:36 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-1092 Boo...to whoever said a free market will work. We do not have the best health care in the world...just the most advanced. The quality of the care an average American citizen is lacking. Yet we pay far more than any other country. This is proven through life expectancy. If we have the best health care and are taken care of, we should live the longest. Yet, there are several countries that are better off in terms of health than us (ie-Japan). The cost of care in Japan is far less than ours yet they are far healthier. Our corruptive, excessive American lifestyle is our downfall and anyone who thinks that a free system will work is part of that problem. Boo…to whoever said a free market will work. We do not have the best health care in the world…just the most advanced. The quality of the care an average American citizen is lacking. Yet we pay far more than any other country. This is proven through life expectancy. If we have the best health care and are taken care of, we should live the longest. Yet, there are several countries that are better off in terms of health than us (ie-Japan). The cost of care in Japan is far less than ours yet they are far healthier. Our corruptive, excessive American lifestyle is our downfall and anyone who thinks that a free system will work is part of that problem.

]]> By: Is Employer Health Insurance Dying? | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-596 Is Employer Health Insurance Dying? | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:19:20 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-596 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: National Health Reform is Dead--Long Live State Health Reform | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-535 National Health Reform is Dead--Long Live State Health Reform | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:50:23 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-535 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

]]> By: FreedomGuy http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-508 FreedomGuy Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:51:20 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-508 A free market will work over time. A market is not "free" if there is coercion whether it is by crime or government. Free markets by definition are voluntary associations and coercion is an involuntary relationship where one side is forced to submit to the other. Healthy people will in fact buy insurance to avoid going bankrupt. They will wait only if you allow them to by rule as in Mass. An uninsured person may well go bankrupt or suffer economic hardship because of a major illness. That is a signal to the population to plan ahead the same way you buy life, home and auto insurance. Conversely, if there are too many uninsured or insurance itself gets too expensive that forces a back pressure on the health system to control or even reduce prices. You will notice that in bad economic times auto manufacturers offer numerous incentives to buy their cars...or none may be sold. So it would work with healthcare. Healthcare has never been fully subject to market forces. Prices and services have always gone only up. There are many reasons for this but for the most part it is due to insulation from the real cost of services. There is an upside to this. With nearly unlimited funds we have developed an extraordinary level of healthcare. In essence, everyone has access to a Cadillac in terms of healthcare. However, it is priced as such. I submit there is NO role for government in healthcare other than leaving it alone. Government did not invent healthcare, insurance or even the modern medical profession. It will not invent any solutions to any problem. It will just change the nature of the problems while claiming temporary victories. A free market will work over time. A market is not “free” if there is coercion whether it is by crime or government. Free markets by definition are voluntary associations and coercion is an involuntary relationship where one side is forced to submit to the other. Healthy people will in fact buy insurance to avoid going bankrupt. They will wait only if you allow them to by rule as in Mass. An uninsured person may well go bankrupt or suffer economic hardship because of a major illness. That is a signal to the population to plan ahead the same way you buy life, home and auto insurance. Conversely, if there are too many uninsured or insurance itself gets too expensive that forces a back pressure on the health system to control or even reduce prices. You will notice that in bad economic times auto manufacturers offer numerous incentives to buy their cars…or none may be sold. So it would work with healthcare. Healthcare has never been fully subject to market forces. Prices and services have always gone only up. There are many reasons for this but for the most part it is due to insulation from the real cost of services. There is an upside to this. With nearly unlimited funds we have developed an extraordinary level of healthcare. In essence, everyone has access to a Cadillac in terms of healthcare. However, it is priced as such. I submit there is NO role for government in healthcare other than leaving it alone. Government did not invent healthcare, insurance or even the modern medical profession. It will not invent any solutions to any problem. It will just change the nature of the problems while claiming temporary victories.

]]> By: The Health Reform Summit--Fixing Obamacare | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/role-government-health-care-reform-2.html/comment-page-1#comment-488 The Health Reform Summit--Fixing Obamacare | Stephen S. S. Hyde On Health Care Reform Topics Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:07:31 +0000 http://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/?p=804#comment-488 [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM - PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...] [...] THE PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH CARE REFORM – PART I: MARKET FAILURE [...]

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