Virginia Postrel: How to Reform Health Care Without Killing Innovation

Former Reason magazine Editor in Chief Virginia Postrel has seen the strengths and the shortcomings of the American health care system both as a kidney donor and a breast cancer survivor.

She argues that individuals should be free to sell their organs, and that encouraging organ markets may be the best way to save the lives of the more than 100,000 Americans currently awaiting transplants.

A 2009 article Postrel wrote for the Atlantic Monthly highlights her experience with the ultra-expensive wonder drug, Herceptin, and the perils of centrally controlling health care costs.

Reason.tv's Ted Balaker sat down with Postrel to discuss organ markets, wonder drugs, and how to reform health care without squashing innovation.

Interview by Ted Balaker. Shot by Hawk Jensen and Paul Detrick. Edited by Paul Detrick.

Music: "Something New" by Very Large Array (Magnatune Records).

Approximately nine-and-a-half minutes.

Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable iPod, HD and audio versions of this and all our videos.

To see Reason.tv's health care play-list, go here.

Postrel, the editor in chief of the blog Deep Glamour, talks to Reason.tv about politics, style, and voter expectations at http://youtube.com/reasontv.

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And come back to Reason.tv March 15 through March 19 for the debut of Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey: How to fix the "Mistake on The Lake" and other once-great American cities, an original six-part documentary series.

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News & Politics

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• health care
• health care reform
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• ted balaker
• hawk jensen
• paul detrick

[Mastikator]

It would be harder to afford when there's a big tax from socialized health-care.

[latewire]

Because ~85% of Americans are insured and would pay essentially nothing for it.

[Pbirv]

@Joe402 Sounds like Herbie would LOVE Somalia. None of that pesky government there.

[knightschwartz]

1/3 uninsured americans is foreign born and who supports letting them come here? Reason magazine.

[knightschwartz]

wish there were more women like her.

[herbs814]

@Joe402

No. ALL dictators come from socialism. Capitalism always produces freedom. Capitalism always produces good.

All tyranny comes from socialism.

All justice comes from capitalism.

[Joe402]

@herbs814

I'm pretty sure Capitalism caused the rise of South American dictators. That's not good at all!

[herbs814]

@Joe402

Capitalism is responsible for everything that is good.

Government intrusion is responsible for every problem in economics and healthcare.

If you don't know that this is a self-evident and undeniable fact, then you don't know anything useful.

[Joe402]

@herbs814

Okay I'm pretty sure you're a troll account because you'd have to be borderline retarded to believe that.

[herbs814]

Government intrusion into healthcare is nothing more than legalized THEFT and the redistribution of stolen plunder. All that is good comes from the private sector. The only thing government can do is STEAL from those who actually produce and steal the credit for what the private sector has accomplished.

Everything that is good comes from the private sector.

Government does nothing more than STEAL.

[herbs814]

@Joe402

Private enterprise is the source of everything that is good. Whether it is paid for by private funds or by taxpayer funds, the private sector is the source of everything that is good and everything that is right and everything that is virtuous.

The only thing government does is STEAL.

All good comes from the private sector.

Government intrusion into industry creates nothing but evil.

[Joe402]

@herbs814

It is still tax payer funded and congress gets pretty sweet deals for obvious reasons. You think us lowly peasants get the same treatment from UnitedHealth, BlueCross, and Humana?