How to Fix Health Care: Lasik Surgery For The Medical Debate

Make no mistake about it. Health care reform is coming. But what's the best way to fix our health care system, which is an inefficient, complicated mess of private actors, third-party payers, public subsidies, and innumerable state and federal regulations? Should we place our faith in the government or in the free market?

ObamaCare supporters argue that the answer lies in more government—more subsidies, more regulations, a law mandating individuals buy health-insurance coverage and, of course, more taxes to pay for it all.

The alternative is to base reforms on what works in the other five-sixths of the U.S. economy, where choice and competition increase quality and drive down prices over time.

Can a market-based health care system work? We can begin to answer this question by looking at Lasik, a medical procedure that's not covered by health insurance. And has gotten better—and cheaper—over time.

"How to Fix Health Care" proposes three simple reforms that will put us on a path to a health-care system that's better, more affordable, and more accessible. And get this—these market-based reforms can be implemented without creating new government programs or raising taxes.

Approximately 8.30 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine and Meredith Bragg. Hosted by Nick Gillespie.

For downloadable versions of this and other videos, go to http://reason.tv

• Category

  News & Politics

[spanishaustralian]

You can not beat free market capitalism. the best system ever devised by man.

[Omar Ghani]

i say abolish health insurance all together then...why is there a middleman at all?

[Evangelista Nick]

Nice video! I am glad that I bumped into it!

[chechnya]

Yeah, its working SO well for America.

[Scott Mullings]

less regulations of corporations when it comes to healthcare, obviously not a viable solution.How about a free market solution well first show how one can operationalise that with the corporate dominated health care insurance delivery system.If u can't, which u won't be able to let public financing be the answer of a national healthcare insurance program be the answer.So that every citizen will have access to healthcare

[orbenn]

Health insurance *would* have value if it were limited like other insurance is limited. Home insurance is valuable because most people can't afford to lost their entire house to a fire, but they don't use it paint or buy a new couch. Health insurance should exist for catastrophic injury or sickness that requires lots of hospitalization, but the regular/routine stuff shouldn't be covered.

[felpaluche]

Great tech.

[rrp1973]

I love how you lefties frame the argument. If you are opposed to government involvement in X you are anti X. Is that what you think? We don't want any hospitals or doctors to exist? As for the lobbyists, that is a problem of government power, not lack of it. If the government simply enforced property rights/contracts as it was intended to do, the lobbyists would have to go back home and get real jobs.

[TonikHealthInsurance]

nice information...! thanks for upload this video...!

[dolphinsattack]

The vast majority of experts in the Medical Field i.e. Doctors, Nurses, Surgeons, Physical Therapists are against a Govt take over of Healthcare, they don't want Govt getting in between them and the patient that's why most Doctors prefer a free market consumer bases system on how to purchase Medical care. Doctors also don't want to take over a 50% pay cut under a Govt take over. Liberals have no problem with govt employees making $300,000 year but whine when Doctors make a lot of money.

[dolphinsattack]

The only people today really pushing a Govt take over of Healthcare aren't the medical professionals, it's far leftists, usually Liberal youth on the internet between the ages of 14 to 23 where they are in that far lefti rebel stage in life or wanting to explore and experience new things and are easily manipulated by Hollywood, Bill Maher and George Soros to feel "trendy" and want to fit in with the LA and Manhattan crowd to want to be "accepted" so they take up these unoriginal causes.

[dolphinsattack]

2nd Admendment? Well most African Nations have gun control, why doesn't it work there? Next time someone breaks into your home and goes after you or a loved one with a weapon then let them abuse or kill you, don't fight back, maybe if you call 911 the Cops might make it there in less than 15 minutes. But how come Healthcare doesn't work in Brazil and Mexico since they have more incommon with the U.S. Demographically and Culturally than any other Nation does? It's failing in Canada and UK.