Will 6/28/09

You Will Regret Health Care Reform

My take on George Will's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: He argues that the rise in health care costs is alright because the quality of health has gone up. He seems to be saying, without coming right out and saying it, that health care is okay and we should leave it alone.

Quote:

As market enthusiasts, conservatives should stop warning that the president's reforms will result in health-care "rationing." Every product, from a jelly doughnut to a jumbo jet, is rationed -- by price or by politics. The conservative's task is to explain why price is preferable. The answer is that prices produce a rational allocation of scarce resources.

My Views: What was significant to me was what Will did not put in: the components of health care costs. How much of the price increase is due to quality increase and how much is due to other factors? Factors like government regulations. Factors like legal liability - I'm looking at you, trial lawyers.

I read that almost of a third of health care costs are due to legal liability concerns. - The costs of malpractice insurance, for one. - The costs of defensive medicine, for another.

And this is my developing concern. With the Democrats in control, the lawyers get a pass, while the insurance agents take the hit.

---

George Will almost didn't make it as a syndicated columnist. His style was considered too erudite for a general audience.

Whatever one thinks of his views, read his work for use of language and for how he marshals facts and uses logic.

Here's his Wiki bio.

His latest book is at the right.