Eliminate all licensing requirements for medical schools, hospitals, pharmacies, and medical doctors and other health-care personnel. Their supply would almost instantly increase, prices would fall, and a greater variety of health-care services would appear on the market. Competing voluntary accreditation agencies would take the place of compulsory government licensing if health-care providers believe that such accreditation would enhance their own reputation, and that their consumers care about reputation, and are willing to pay for it. Because consumers would no longer be duped into believing that there is such a thing as a "national standard" of health care, they would increase their search costs and make more discriminating health-care choices.
Asymmetric information! That's all you need to mention to destroy the simple minded stuff from mises.org
Except austrian economics acknowledge the existence of asymmetric information. And I have enough familiarity with public healthcare to understand that just closing your eyes to the problem (by saying there is a "good national" standard) does not make anything better, only more expensive. The massive intervention made by the government in the american healthcare is blatant to anyone. It is impressive how the "solution" to bad government intervention is more government intervention.
One couldn't do otherwise. However, my point stands. Asymmetric information destroys the whole article as prance. We get 'race to the bottom' phenomenon, encouraged by the ease in creating rent through manipulating information flows. That's the problem with the stuff they spew; its there just to manipulate the gullible right winger
The government is the biggest manipulator of information. It is this simple: for your argument to be true, all information provided in the world under a free market must be wrong, while you get the government magically providing the "right" information. I know far too well how government manipulates information ("look, we provide free medicines for everyone!", yeah, free and unexistent) and how private publishers in medicine provide much better and thorough information. Seems like the manipulative person here is you.
The government is the biggest manipulator of information. It is this simple: for your argument to be true, all information provided in the world under a free market must be wrong, while you get the government magically providing the "right" information. I know far too well how government manipulates information ("look, we provide free medicines for everyone!", yeah, free and unexistent) and how private publishers in medicine provide much better and thorough information. Seems like the manipulative person here is you.
How about just requiring health care providers to make their prices public? Most health care providers consider pricing a trade secret. Asymmetric information is indeed the biggest problem.
