tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22020163.post6048830594920802770..comments2023-10-24T07:28:50.297-04:00Comments on Thinking on the Margin: Supply, Demand, and Healthcare ReformBrian Hollarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09365101283657395331noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22020163.post-32968629615849155952009-11-17T00:41:47.542-05:002009-11-17T00:41:47.542-05:00First, a single payer system would be the best way...First, a single payer system would be the best way to go, but it is not politically possible. What a shame.<br /><br />Second, I still note that critics of the proposals have no alternative. Yet the status quo is not acceptable, although it someone thinks it is, I'd like to hear the argument.<br /><br />Third, health care, even in the US, is not some typical free market like the market for soft drinks or television sets. The economics are entirely different, as written about perhaps best by Nobel Laureate Ken Arrow.<br /><br />Fourth, critics don't seem to care about the millions that would actually gain health insurance. Even that study in cited in the WaPo article concedes that. And let's face it, there are so many studies out there, and of course, each side touts the findings that benefit their argument. That same study has opinions that the Democrats can run with. <br /><br />Firth, at it's root, this is also a moral issue. As TR Reid, the author of "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care" notes, in our country, the moral argument always gets lost amid the noise about details: insurance company employment levels, hospital reimbursement rates, malpractice premiums, etc. Other industrialized democracies got to universal coverage by starting with a moral decision.<br /><br />Here's what we do know: the status quo is unacceptable, and has a huge human cost. We know other advanced countries achieve better results for less money with universal health care. At the very least, we can learn from them. If someone has a better idea, I'd like to hear it, rather than just criticism of the proposals out there.thinkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06024721812573340354noreply@blogger.com