The purpose of this post is to give us all a little exercise for our worldview muscles. So, here we go.
Regardless of your position or feelings about health care in the United States, there are considerations and issues that need to be understood and studied. It's a complex subject, but that doesn't mean it should be left to economists, academics and politicians. I share this piece from John Goodman at the National Center for Policy Analysis (disclosure: a conservative health care think tank) because he hits several key issues that are often overlooked in the emotion of "overpriced health care" or "millions without health care coverage". While the former may be true, we all should become educated on these kinds of topics so that we can make informed judgments about our view. And the real trick is figuring out how what we know about our faith and the Bible which inform this topic. No doubt there is a price to pay in developing a worldview - it involves work (e.g. research, reasoned analysis and think time). Not very convenient, but usually necessary. So, take a small step in that direction here:
Health Care for Profit | John Goodman | NCPA
Regardless of your position or feelings about health care in the United States, there are considerations and issues that need to be understood and studied. It's a complex subject, but that doesn't mean it should be left to economists, academics and politicians. I share this piece from John Goodman at the National Center for Policy Analysis (disclosure: a conservative health care think tank) because he hits several key issues that are often overlooked in the emotion of "overpriced health care" or "millions without health care coverage". While the former may be true, we all should become educated on these kinds of topics so that we can make informed judgments about our view. And the real trick is figuring out how what we know about our faith and the Bible which inform this topic. No doubt there is a price to pay in developing a worldview - it involves work (e.g. research, reasoned analysis and think time). Not very convenient, but usually necessary. So, take a small step in that direction here:
Health Care for Profit | John Goodman | NCPA
There are quite a few people who are opposed to the idea of profit in health care. Many apparently believe that for-profit entities have no legitimate place in an ideal health care system.
As I explained at The Health Care Blog the other day, my own view is the exact opposite. Were I a Health Care Czar, I would remove the nonprofit status from almost all health care organizations and force them to be for-profit under tax law. I would be willing to consider some exceptions here and there, and in special cases allow for-profits to set up nonprofit subsidiaries. But the vast majority of all patients in my ideal world would be dealing with for-profits — in getting health insurance and in getting medical care. And in return they would get lower-cost, higher-quality care.
Why are there such radically divergent views on this subject? As so often happens in public policy, much confusion is caused when people are not familiar with basic economic principles. In this case, the antiprofit folks are confused about (1) the economics of capital, (2) the economics of competition and (3) the economics of motivation in complex social systems.
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JMS
