Health Care

Op-eds and Blogs by date

• Adverse Selection on Purpose (February 9, 2010)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In a post a few weeks ago, I stated that I had coined a term in 1994 to describe the effects of a ban on pre-existing conditions clauses in health insurance: adverse selection by law. . . .
• What Obama Isn't Saying (February 4, 2010)
  Weekly Standard
  by Harvey C. Mansfield
  this op-ed mentions James W. Ceaser
  The apolitical politics of progressivism. . . .
• The Dead Duck Congress (January 26, 2010)
  Weekly Standard
  by Tod Lindberg
  With nothing to lose, will they go for broke? . . .
• Great Scott! (January 26, 2010)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Some of the most melancholy letters and e-mails that are sent to me are from people who lament that there is nothing they can do about the bad policies that they see ruining this country. . . .
• Fixing it later (January 22, 2010)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Gail Collins and David Brooks discuss what Congress ought to do about health care. Gail Collins says: I only have one thought, which is that the Democrats should pass the health care bill now. . . .
• Huge News Story I Missed in December (January 21, 2010)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Just before Christmas, I read somewhere that Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the U.S. Senate, had made it easier for Harry Reid to pass the ugly Senate health care bill. . . .
• Our Philosopher-King Obama (January 21, 2010)
  Real Clear Politics
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  In Plato's ideal society, philosopher kings and elite Guardians shepherded the rabble to force them to do the "right" thing. . . .
• Health Care Is Hurting Democrats (January 20, 2010)
  Wall Street Journal
  by David Brady, Daniel P. Kessler, and Douglas Rivers
  New polling data show that voters know exactly where candidates stand. . . .
• Can Medicine Learn From Agriculture? (January 4, 2010)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The misguided journey of one health care writer. . . .
• Unhealthy Arrogance (January 4, 2010)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The only thing healthy about Congress' health insurance legislation is the healthy skepticism about it by most of the public, as revealed by polls. . . .
• Harry Reid Turns Insurance Into a Public Utility (January 4, 2010)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The health bill creates a massive cash crunch and then bankruptcies for many insurers. . . .
• Is Obama's promise of 'real change' in trouble? (January 4, 2010)
  San Francisco Chronicle
  by John H. Bunzel
  As the debate over health care comes up against the crucial Christmas Eve vote in the Senate, Democrats who have supported President Obama's call for sweeping health care reform (I include myself) are still waiting to see if their party leaders in Congress can stave off the internal schisms that could derail the chances of fulfilling the president's commitment to bringing about "change we can believe in." . . .
• Wall Street Journal on Health Care (December 15, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Today's lead unsigned editorial on health care in the Wall Street Journal is one of the best they have run. . . .
• Commonsense Health-Care Reforms (December 14, 2009)
  National Review
  by Scott W. Atlas
  Trumpeting the straw-man argument that “doing nothing is simply unacceptable,” U.S. lawmakers continue to advocate a frighteningly sweeping government takeover of American health care. . . .
• By Reason of Insanity (December 11, 2009)
  Fox News
  by Scott W. Atlas
  We now hear that there is new momentum to the Democrat plans for health care system reform. . . .
• Dean Baker Nails It on Immigration (December 7, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In a Washington Post story today, reporter Philip Rucker bemoans the fact that the expansion of demand for medical care that would follow from the passage of Congress's health care bill would butt up against a restricted supply of doctors. . . .
• Rahe Of Sunshine (December 4, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  Paul Rahe, a professor at Hillsdale College, believes the country is going to hell in a hand basket. . . .
• Economists’ Letter to Obama on Health Care Reform (November 18, 2009)
  New York Times
  this blog mentions John Shoven
  This afternoon a group of 23 prominent economists — including two Nobel laureates as well as previous members of both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations — sent a letter to President Obama about the priorities for health care reform. . . .
• Should The Government Fund Abortions? (November 17, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The now out-of-control debate about major health care reform has hit yet another speed bump over whether participants in the subsidized public option may receive coverage for abortions. . . .
• Research gains at risk (November 16, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Scott W. Atlas
  As the world accelerates technology solutions for everything from education to commerce to environmental health to economic growth, our president is focused on government centralization and traveling back in time to "reform" American health care. . . .
• Stop The (Health Reform) Juggernaut (November 16, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Henry I. Miller
  The Pelosi bill will hurt not only drugmakers, but patients too. . . .
• Shutting off the miracle-drug spigot (November 9, 2009)
  New York Post
  by Henry I. Miller
  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was right last week when she called her latest health-care-reform proposal a "his toric moment": After decades of life-saving and cost-cutting scientific innovations from drug and medical-device companies...
• The “Costs” of Medical Care (November 3, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  We are incessantly being told that the cost of medical care is “too high”—either absolutely or as a growing percentage of our incomes...
• The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part II (November 3, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Although it is cheaper to buy a pint of milk than to buy a quart of milk, nobody considers that to be lowering the price of milk...
• The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part III (November 3, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  One of the strongest talking points of those who want a government-run medical care system is that we simply cannot afford the high and rising costs of medical care under the current system...
• The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part IV (November 3, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  What is so wrong with the current medical system in the United States that we are being urged to rush headlong into a new government system that we are not even supposed to understand, because this legislation is to be rushed through Congress before even the Senators and Representatives have a chance to read it?...
• Do They Care? (November 2, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  While many people dismiss insights from public choice, what's striking is its casual acceptance in conversation and discussion...
• The public option (November 2, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Here is the video where Obama uses the Post Office as an example of why the public option won’t hurt private competitors...
• No placebo for lower costs (November 2, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Henry I. Miller
  There must be a self-satisfied smirk on the face of the executives at big pharmaceutical companies as they watch congressional Democrats attempt to punish health insurance plans for having the nerve to raise questions about the consequences of current health reform proposals...
• Greg Mankiw and Homework on Marginal Tax Rates (November 2, 2009)
  Economics One (blog)
  by John B. Taylor
  In an op-ed in today's New York Times Harvard's Greg Mankiw gives a good example of how government transfer programs increase marginal tax rates...
• Thomas Sowell On Economics Of Medical Care (October 28, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Thomas Sowell
  The high cost of medical care has been a recurrent theme in countries around the world...
• Pseudo-Competition (October 27, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  The congressional leadership has been very vocal lately about the need for competition in health insurance...
• Tyler’s Triple on Health Care (October 26, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Hey, it’s baseball playoff time and the article is in the New York Times and so of course I'm going to use a baseball metaphor...
• Where's the benefit? (October 26, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Scott W. Atlas
  Regardless of the facts, most of the media seem to focus on one aspect of the proposed health care legislation - cost - as if it is a given that the Democratic reforms are desirable, except for the quandary of how to pay for them...
• Public Opinion and Health Reform (October 23, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by David Brady and Daniel P. Kessler
  Earlier this month, President Barack Obama said that an "unprecedented consensus has come together behind" health-care reform...
• Obama's CEA on Adverse Selection (October 19, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Back in July, Bryan had an excellent post on adverse selection, pointing out that the textbook idea that adverse selection is an important problem in insurance is simply wrong...
• Great Moments in Health Economics (October 19, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  From President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, "The Economic Case for Health Reform," June 2009:...
• Are Taxes “Passed On”? (October 15, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In arguing with the recent study done by Price Waterhouse Coopers for the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the White House bloggers say the following:...
• The desperate defense of Obamacare (October 13, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  The political arena has abandoned all civility, it seems...
• Britain's Central Planning Death Panels (October 12, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Hazel Fenton, from East Sussex, is alive nine months after medics ruled she had only days to live, withdrew her antibiotics and denied her artificial feeding...
• Inside The Baucus Health Plan (October 12, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Scott W. Atlas
  The Congressional Budget Office numbers are in, and America's politicians and self-defined experts in the media will be either extolling its accuracies or deriding its fantasies, to validate their own positions on the Baucus health plan...
• Health care: Which is the real party of no? (October 8, 2009)
  Atlanta Journal Constitution
  this blog mentions Gary S. Becker
  The biggest lie, falsehood, misinformation — whatever you want to call it — in our health-care debate has been that the Democrats are the only side that’s contributing ideas...
• Coercion and laziness in health care reform (October 6, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  When people have a strong urge to get something accomplished they cannot — or perhaps better put, are unwilling to — do by themselves, they often insist that it must be done by the government...
• Is the Swiss Health Care System a Good Model for US? (October 5, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  The Swiss health care system has several important properties that I (and many others) have been advocating should be incorporated into any reform of the US health care system...
• A tax by many other names (October 5, 2009)
  Orange County Register
  by Henry I. Miller
  President Barack Obama, appearing recently on ABC-TV's "This Week," made what may be the most revealing statements of his tenure...
• Infantalizing US (September 25, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  this blog features Thomas Sowell
  I’ve long believed — for reasons very similar to, but less refined than, those offered by my colleague Bryan Caplan — that the modern state brings out the children in us...
• Doubling Down on a Flawed Insurance Model (September 25, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by John F. Cogan and Daniel P. Kessler
  “What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you....And here’s what you need to know, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future. Period.”...
• Data on Canadian Medical Care (September 24, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  My wife had breast cancer in 1986 and is an active consumer of information about breast cancer...
• Health care debate about liberty versus equality (September 24, 2009)
  San Francisco Examiner
  by David Davenport
  As the war over health care comes into sharper relief, it is apparent that the real debate is about something very fundamental in American politics...
• The Feds' Attack on Freedom of Speech (September 22, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Not the Fed, as in Bernanke, but the Feds, as in the federal government...
• Competition in Media Works (September 22, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  When I read that President Obama would make the rounds of all the major network news shows except that of Fox News Channel, I was skeptical that any hard information would come out...
• The Congressional Seizure Of Private Health Care Plans (September 22, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The current incoherent struggle over health care reform is fast coming to a head...
• Obama's Bait and Switch (September 21, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  In the spring of this year, President Obama argued that one reason for health care reform was to get long-term spending on government health care under control...
• Economics of Mandated Health Insurance (September 17, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Today's Wall Street Journal contains an interesting front-page news story about mandated health insurance, focusing on the case of Massachusetts...
• The New Third Rail (September 16, 2009)
  Weekly Standard
  by Tod Lindberg
  If Hogwarts were a school for politicians, there would be a required class on "Defense Against the Dark Arts of Demagoguery."...
• Fables for adults (September 15, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Many years ago, as a small child, I was told one of those old-fashioned fables for children...
• Last Night Didn’t Quite Do It (September 11, 2009)
  Works and Days
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  Obama’s problem with warning Americans about bickering, partisan politics, lying, and misrepresentation last night is that his green advisor Van Jones just left after it was disclosed that he called Republicans “a–holes”, whites polluters / more prone to mass murder in schools, and charged the former President with involvement in 9/11...
• Obama's Contradiction on Health Care: II (September 11, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Three commenters on my post last night (ed, mark, and Karl Smith) pointed out, correctly, it turns out, that I missed Obama's point...
• Listening to a Liar: Part II (September 11, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  "Hubris-laden charlatans" was the way a recent e-mail from a reader characterized the Obama administration...
• Obama's Contradiction on Health Care (September 10, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Here are two segments of Obama's speech this evening...
• Three health care questions (September 10, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Why does the impending fiscal disaster known as Medicare justify increasing the role of the federal government and reducing the role of prices which are the essence of Medicare?...
• Another fine speech will not be enough (September 10, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Timothy Garton Ash
  "Change – I'd like mine back"...
• A Great Opportunity and Great Danger Tonight for Obama (September 10, 2009)
  Corner, National Review Online
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  I think what most are asking about health-care reform are very simple questions — and which party that answers them best will gain public support...
• Pfizer's $2.3 Billion-Dollar Settlement (September 9, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Charles L. Hooper and David R. Henderson
  Even Google didn't believe it...
• Why Are These Health Care Fixes Ignored? (September 9, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Scott W. Atlas
  Our president and his allies in Congress have been advancing their plan to offer government as the answer to insurance reform...
• Listening to a Liar (September 8, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The most important thing about what anyone says are not the words themselves but the credibility of the person who says them...
• A Dangerous Cost-Cutting Prescription (September 8, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Henry I. Miller
  Health care reform is intended to control spending, expand coverage and protect consumers...
• No such thing as free health care (September 8, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  TANSTAAFL is an acronym for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."...
• When it comes to health care town halls, why should incumbents get all the fun? (September 4, 2009)
  Hartford Courant
  this blog mentions Hoover Institution
  Members of Congress aren't the only ones holding town halls on health care...
• Health Lessons From Schools (September 3, 2009)
  New York Post
  by Paul E. Peterson
  IF Congress creates a public option in health-care insurance, will that inevitably lead to a single-payer system, with the government everyone's insurer?...
• GOP Principles with Thaddeus McCotter: Chapter 3 of 5 (September 2, 2009)
  Uncommon Knowledge
  by Peter M. Robinson
  Rep. Thaddeus McCotter describes why the American people don’t want Obamacare, and why a good many Democrats won’t vote for it...
• Obama's Summer of Discontent (September 1, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Fouad Ajami
  So we are to have a French health-care system without a French tradition of political protest...
• More Regulation of Mortgages would Likely Hurt Consumers (August 31, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  No doubt many consumers made mistakes in their credit decisions during the past few years, perhaps especially in the mortgages they chose...
• Dr. Ouelett on Canada's Medicare (August 31, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Early this morning (PDT), C-SPAN carried an interesting interview and call-in show with Dr. Ouelett, outgoing president of the Canadian Medical Association...
• How American Health Care Killed My Father (August 31, 2009)
  EconLog
  by David R. Henderson
  Not my father: David Goldhill's father...
• Native Americans and the Public Option (August 31, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Terry Anderson
  Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a leading architect of national health-care reform, visited the Flathead Indian Reservation near Pablo, Mont., in May, and he was confronted with a surprising critique...
• The coming debt debacle: Top economist says President Obama must slash spending, now (August 31, 2009)
  Daily News (NY)
  by John B. Taylor
  New federal budget numbers released last week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ought to be a game-changer for Congress and the Obama administration...
• Mr. Health Care (August 27, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Scott W. Atlas
  Sen. Ted Kennedy was long established as the singularly effective Democrat leader in the Senate for causes related to "social justice."...
• A health care manifesto (August 26, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  What are the key principles of reform that would allow us to talk about reform without putting it in scare quotes?...
• The Power of the Patient (August 26, 2009)
  Fox News
  by Scott W. Atlas
  The Obama and Democrat health care agenda is meeting loud and strong opposition from American voters, who are fighting back for what they believe in...
• Obama and ‘Redistributive (August 26, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  The first seven months of the Obama administration seemingly make no sense...
• The drugs do work (August 24, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Henry I. Miller
  Once upon a time there was a horse that was so productive working in the field that he put all the other horses to shame...
• Personalized Rx therapy (August 24, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Henry I. Miller
  Two drug companies that jointly market a prominent cancer drug recently changed the labeling to discourage the drug's use in colon-cancer patients who have certain gene mutations, following clinical studies that showed the drug is not effective in those patients...
• Le illusion (August 24, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  Sara Paretsky, in an article in the NYT entitled Le Treatment, described an emergency room in France and observes that rude bureaucrats in the French health system are worth putting up with, given the price:...
• Health care vs. health insurance (August 24, 2009)
  Cafe Hayek
  by Russell Roberts
  In this post, I asked you to respond to this question I received from a reader, Tom:...
• 'A contest between hope and fear'? (August 21, 2009)
  Corner, National Review Online
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  There is something creepy about the sudden invocation of Christian morality by the president to galvanize support for his state-run health care plan, as if his opponents are suddenly to be seen as somehow selfish or even un-Christian...
• Looking Beyond The Public Option (August 20, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Scott W. Atlas
  The Obama administration claims its motivation for a public plan option--government insurance for all--rests on the more fundamental goal of increasing competition among health insurance providers...
• Divine Debt Trumps All (August 20, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  In Greek mythology, even Olympian gods and heroes were subject to a higher divine power known loosely as “fate” — an allotted moira, or destiny, that could not be changed even by thunderbolt-throwing Zeus...
• Health Care Hyperbole (August 19, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Clint Bolick
  By possibly taking the public option off the table, Democrats who favor nationalized health care have acknowledged that their opponents are winning the public relations debate...
• American Health Care Once Again (August 18, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  In a recent post (see my discussion on July 28) I explained why the American health delivery system is superior in some important dimensions to health care in most other advanced countries...
• Obama's Doomed Utopia (August 18, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  August is normally a time for vacation and reinvigoration, for this author who is now in attendance at the Mont Pelerin Society meeting in Sweden...
• Whose Medical Decisions?: Part IV (August 18, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The serious, and sometimes chilling, provisions of the medical care legislation that President Obama has been trying to rush through Congress are important enough for all of us to stop and think, even though his political strategy from the outset has been to prevent us from having time to stop and think about it...
• Whose Medical Decisions?: Part II (August 18, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  When famed bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he said: "Because that's where the money is."...
• Whose Medical Decisions?: Part III (August 18, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Amid all the controversies over medical care, no one seems to be asking a very basic question: Why does it take more than 1,000 pages of legislation to insure people who lack medical insurance?...
• Whose Medical Decisions? (August 18, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  There was a time when rushing a thousand-page bill through Congress so fast that no one has time to read it would have provoked public outrage...
• Obama's Blue Pill and Red Pill - Choose Wisely! (August 13, 2009)
  Reason
  this blog includes quotes from Henry I. Miller
  Yesterday, President Barack Obama went to a townhall meeting in New Hampshire to clear up some "misinformation" about his health care reform plans...
• Homeopathic Medicine Is Homeo-Pathetic (August 12, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Henry I. Miller
  "Complementary and alternative medicine" is big business, accounting for almost $34 billion annually in out-of-pocket spending in the U.S., according to a report from the National Institutes of Health released last month...
• A Sickly Medical Device Safety Act (August 11, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Congressional mischief comes in large packages, like health care reform, and in small bundles, like the ill-advised Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 (MDSA) which is now moving forward in both the House and Senate...
• A runaway deficit may soon test Obama’s luck (August 11, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat...
• SOLUTIONS: Revitalizing American entrepreneurship (August 10, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Jeffrey M. Jones
  this op-ed mentions Hoover Institution
  Every day we're reminded of just how bad this recession is...
• User Fees Confuse and Abuse (August 7, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Henry I. Miller
  Federal "user fees," a sort of tax imposed on those who benefit directly from governmental actions or programs, are familiar to many Americans: The charges range from admission to national parks to the processing of passports...
• Mitt Romney's Big-Government Health Care Plan (August 7, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  Mitt Romney appears to have changed his mind once again about the statewide health care program he enacted as governor of Massachusetts...
• Never mind the anecdotes: Do Canadians like their health-care system? (August 7, 2009)
  Chicago Tribune
  this blog includes quotes from Scott W. Atlas
  By an overwhelming margin, Canadians prefer the Canadian health care system to the American one...
• Reflecting on Thomas Sowell's Observations of National Health Care (August 6, 2009)
  Associated Content (blog)
  this blog features Thomas Sowell
  As I have posted on my homepage, my favorite author is Thomas Sowell...
• Care Versus Control (August 5, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  As someone who was once rushed to a hospital in the middle of the night, because of taking a medication that millions of people take every day without the slightest problem...
• Healthcare reform that's hard to swallow (August 5, 2009)
  Los Angeles Times
  by Henry I. Miller
  It has become fashionable at the White House and on Capitol Hill to try to cut costs at the expense of the research-intensive (as opposed to generic) pharmaceutical industry...
• 10 Reasons Why American Healthcare Is Better Than You've Been Told (August 3, 2009)
  Corner, National Review Online
  this blog features Scott W. Atlas
  From Hoover's Scott Atlas (who's also the head of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical School:...