In Healthcare, was Nietzsche Right?
According to Ronald Bailey’s October 20th contribution to Reason magazine entitled ‘In Health Care, Nobody Knows Anything”, perhaps Nietzsche was correct.
In large measure, Bailey reasons that our “knowing nothing” has roots in our lack of informational (read cost) transparency.
Interestingly, Bailey suggests that many of the existing arguments for nationalized healthcare are misleading, perhaps even intentional. For example, Bailey sites the claim that mandated insurance will reduce the price of individual insurance premiums. Yet the guaranteed issue mandates associated in New Jersey resulted in premium increases of well over 100%. Similarly, residents of Massachussets now experience the highest premiums for family insurance plans in the country. Both are examples where states have passed legislation currently proposed nationally.
Also, a recent sound bite offered by President Obama indicated that health insurance companies are making “record profits”. In reality, the industry did poorly, averaging 3.3 percent at the end of 2008 and Q1 of 2009. This comes in as the 86th most profitable industry in the U.S., well behind such industries as chain restaurants (7.7 percent), electric utilitities (6.2 percent) and beer brewers (18 percent). While such a claim is meant to demonize an industry, the facts don’t support Mr. Obama’s claim.
In typical fashion for a forum of libertarian thought, the author espouses many of the more common pro-market suggestions for reforming healthcare. Included are the promotion of high deductible insurance policies, increased price transparency, the allowance for the purchase of healthcare plans across state lines and the elimination of barriers for competition into the marketplace.
While numerous industries bundle prices in the marketplace, Bailey suggests that a similar simplifying dynamic would benefit the health insurance and medical services industries. A practice that would unleash competition sparked by consumer demand in healthcare.
I agree that unless we engage in consumer-driven systems supported with a means of consumer transparency (and responsibility) we will continue to “know nothing”. Further, as long as we have an administration that is willing to behave, perhaps even insisting upon acting, as our nation’s Übermensch, we risk finding ourselves knowing less and less.
