[AFPhys]

Friedman is the greatest economist, and politico-economist, of our lifetimes. There have been others, and I know that he considers himself to be standing on the Giant shoulders of Hayek, but he is himself a Giant.

I will be sending this article to some relatives I had discussions with recently.
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[Bitwhacker]

Did I miss it or did Friedman break out the costs paid for malpractice insurance and litigation/settlement expense???

I like the idea of MSA's to combat the HMO-mentality that has overtaken US healthcare. But....

What other countries in the world have the insanely high incidense of medical litigation as the US does??? (I know the UK doesn't -- because you pay if you lose.)

What fraction of the costs go to 'defensive' medicine (as in defend against exposure to litigation)?

What economic 'factor' accounts for the dropout rate or migration away from high-litigation states (like PA, where OB/GYNs and others are fleeing at the speed of sound)???

I think Friedman is only looking at half the problem...