Replies

“Improve?
Whats to improve?
Just say no.”

Our health care system is a disaster. It takes 17% of our GDP (twice that of any other country) and we have the same life expectancy as Cubans. Surgical procedures cost four times as much here as in Europe. Why is it a disaster? Because it’s not free enterprise—it’s a system rigged by the government to benefit the medical establishment.

It is almost impossible to get any kind of medical service in America without getting a doctor’s approval, which is ridiculous. I have a cholesterol problem. I am always experimenting with diet and exercise to see what can help, but to get a simple cholesterol test, I have to go down to see my doctor, explain to him why I want it, get him to agree and then pay a sizable fee to both him and the lab. Which means I don’t do it nearly as often as I would like. I also use certain medications pretty regularly. To get them refilled, I have to go again to the doctor, hat in hand, explaining what I want. Because, after all, who would trust me to know what I need to take, even though I’ve been taking it for 20 years. However, as I have traveled around to various countries, I have come to realize that in many parts of the world, almost all medications are available for sale at the local pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription. Everything from antibiotics to heart medication. And at a small fraction of what we pay in America. What a great idea! If someone doesn’t know what they need, they talk to the pharmacist. This one change eliminates at least 50% of all doctor visits.

The next obvious change: double the number of medical schools. The doctors have a monopoly on medical care. They also determine how many doctors there are by only giving AMA approval to a limited number of medical schools. Let’s have enough medical schools to have a surplus of doctors, so they can actually compete like the rest of the professions do. That’s what free market capitalism is all about. The government bows down and limits the number of doctors because they are afraid of taking on the AMA. I don’t think we’re afraid to do it.

One more obvious thing to do is to put some incentives into the system for people to control costs. Right now, for most people, bills are paid by an insurance company or by the government. Most people don’t ask, how much is this going to cost me, because they’re not paying. They don’t shop for cheaper care, or learn to do therapy at home, or lots of other things to save money, because they’re not paying. I know seniors who go to see their doctors because they are lonely. It doesn’t cost them anything. Let’s install some incentives in the system to save money. If patients start to care about what things cost, the doctors will too.

Defeating Obamacare is a good idea, and it’s going to happen eventually, when people realize what a disaster it is. But we have been living with a disastrous medical system for far too long. It’s time for a change. Let’s give free market capitalism a chance.