The medical economist Rashi Fein observed in 1986 that there are only three ways
to limit the extravagant demand for medical care: "Inconvenience," the practice
used in the military, where one must wait interminably for care. "Rules," the
third-party approach by which layers of rules and thousands of regulations are
devised, most recently in a fool's quest to contain costs under ObamaCare. And
"Price." This last option elicits gasps and chest-clutching from bien
pensants who insist that all financial impediments to care must be removed.
Yet it has one incontestably beneficial attribute: It requires the physician to
study the true cost and benefits of a course of action, and then to present that
data to the patient. Who is better suited than the patient to assess the value
to him of the proposed treatment? Kathleen Sebelius? You gotta be kidding. [Link added]
-from "Reflections of a Medical Ex-Practioner", by Ed Marsh, in yesterday's WSJ. (Thanks, Carol.)
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