Generic Reasons
February 2, 2010
Taking this with the appropriate grain of salt (the author has an obvious incentive to make the claims he does), this is a wonderful analysis of exactly why any “health care reform” that doesn’t include the abolition of the FDA and other regulatory monopolies in favor of a competitive system of regulation and tort is not serious about health care reform. It also makes clear the difference between “free market” and “freed market.” When opponents of free markets talk about the free market, what they work with are things like the current generic prices (what could be more free market then manufacturers competing over an off-patent molecule?) because things like the FDA are just taken for granted. It’s time we had a real discussion about the costs of health care instead of the same old generic talk.
February 2, 2010 at 17:36
I didn’t see this before I commented on your earlier post, so needless to say, I agree completely. I’ll add that if we solve the problem of the high cost of health care, then the debate over the cost and the even the nature of health insurance becomes a very different one from the one that’s going on today. To try to reform health insurance first is a waste of time.