Health Care Myth: Government Slows Cost Growth
By John Stossel
Listening to Obama, you’d think that governments are good at reducing costs under control. He says:
The plan I’m announcing tonight would… slow the growth of health care costs for our families.
– Obama, September 10, Health Care Speech to Congress.
But health care costs have been rising just as fast in countries with government-run health care.
Since 1990, per person spending on health care has risen 159% in the US. But in England, with its government-run system, costs went up 210% over the same time period. Spending was up 148% in France and 124% in Canada, according to OECD data.
It’s true that we have always spent more on health care than countries with government systems. But that’s partly because we’re wealthier, and partly because other countries don’t respect our drug patents, free-riding on our medical innovation.
Someone will ration health care. In America, insurance companies usually do it. In most of the rest of the world, governments do. Costs skyrocket under both systems. Its time we tried the third option: let individuals use their own money to buy health care.
I plan to address that on my show tomorrow.
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