Economics 101 continued

While the fictitious Free Market ™ fails to produce the purported paradise in general, the concept is glaringly absurd in the case of health care.* In the first place, asymmetrical information is part of the definition of the service -- the produce is expertise. If I knew everything my doctor knows, I wouldn ' t need one. In the second place, it has positive externalities that produce public goods. Infectious disease control is maybe the most obvious, but a healthier workforce, not having to watch people suffering and dying in the streets, † and fewer families psychologically burdened by premature loss are among the many others. Of course there are some negative externalities as well, including fossil fuel consumption and a lot of plastic waste, but these aren ' t as bad as many industries.But maybe the biggest joker in the deck is the nature of demand. If you ' ve taken Economics 101 you probably remember the concept of utility, and declining marginal utility, and consumer choice and yadda yadda which is why the Free Market ™ purportedly empowers consumers. Health care isn ' t like that at all. When I go to the supermarket I can pick and choose the foods I like as long a I stay within my budget. But I don ' t get to choose what health care I want, in fact much of it is compulsory. If I have Type 1 diabetes, I need insulin or I ' ll die. I didn ' t make that choice, it just happened to me. Ditto if I ' m hit by a bus or I get cancer or am at risk for a heart attack or s...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs