Milton Friedman - Healthcare, 3rd Party Payer

Professor Friedman comments regarding the dynamics of third party payers on healthcare. http://www.LibertyPen.com

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[Aristotle100]

Man...the more and more I see videos of Dr. Milton Friedman the sadder I am that he is no longer with us. I can't believe that this November 16th will be 3 years since he passed away. Speaking for the advocates of free markets in economics and ideas; we all miss you Dr. Friedman

[Randomrebel459]

Oh wow, I have never seen an interview with Friedman when he was at this age. Still brilliant, though missing the energetic spark he had in earlier years. (See- Free to Choose or any interview from around that time)

Rest in peace.

[volkswagongal]

very clearly stated, no jargon. excellent!

[DrCruel]

@MsZeitgeist85 That's right. There's no real equivalent to the AMA in Germany - at least not yet. Pricing limits are set by the German government, not by a professional guild with a vested interest in setting health care costs as high as possible.

You'll find similar causes for high legal costs in the US, in this latter case because of the ABA. Funeral services are likewise kept high by the National Funeral Directors Association. And so on.

[MsZeitgeist85]

@DrCruel I know that there are goverment subsitys in Germany but there cost problems are no where near as bad as the problems in the USA.

[DrCruel]

@MsZeitgeist85 Canada's single-payer system is run by the Canadian government. So also the "Bizmarckian" systems of Germany and Japan, where care is provided by private hospitals but where fees are controlled by government regulation, and finances are provided by a mandatory government-run insurance program. I might remark, that Germany is starting to have the same problems as the US.

My issue, however, is with the AMA and the deleterious effect it has had on health care affordability.

[MsZeitgeist85]

@DrCruel What about Canada, Costa Rica, and Chlie that use a Single Payer system and countrys like Japan, Germany, and Singapore that use the all pravate Bismark model?

[DrCruel]

@MsZeitgeist85 Most other countries have nationalized medical systems. The government assumes this role - not a private guild. Medical schools in such countries are much cheaper and easier to get into.

I'm no fan of nationalization, but given the corrupt nature of our present system there may be no viable alternative.

[MsZeitgeist85]

@DrCruel Do other countrys have some similar restrictions?

[DrCruel]

@MsZeitgeist85 The AMA argued this back in the 1930s too, trying to prohibit doctors from participating in HMOs - and were ultimately convicted under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act for it.

Before the rise of the AMA, doctors participated in a free market. Now doctors must join the AMA to practice medicine in the US, and must go to overpriced schools run by the AMA. The AMA has likewise worked diligently to keep medical fees as high as possible. This is why health care in the US is so expensive.

[MsZeitgeist85]

@umbilicaltapeworm That so called free market has never existed for primary health care providers. The for profit HMOs are the problem.

[umbilicaltapeworm]

@gigamage private insurance is strictly voluntary (or once was when it was truly private), but government enforces it's mandates by the threat of force. there is a big difference imo, between healthy competition in a free market and a Leviathan monopoly forcing people to pay for and use it's inefficient "services" merely because they live in the wrong place at the wrong time. if medicine was as free as the electronics market even the poorest people could afford care (like TVs and cell phones).