Articles
A Clarion Call for Health Independence, by Wendy McElroy, 31 Jan 2007
Related Topics: Marriage, Personal Responsibility
A review of the movie Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
"On a more political level, the overriding theme is 'Question Authority.' ... It is not merely that experts are shown to be fallible and constrained by narrow thinking. It is that ordinary people are shown to be capable of realizing their own self-interest even in 'expert only' areas."
Related Topics: Marriage, Personal Responsibility
A review of the movie Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
"On a more political level, the overriding theme is 'Question Authority.' ... It is not merely that experts are shown to be fallible and constrained by narrow thinking. It is that ordinary people are shown to be capable of realizing their own self-interest even in 'expert only' areas."
Alternative Medicine Is Libertarian Medicine, by Butler Shaffer, 2 Dec 2006
Related Topics: Life, The State
"There are a number of factors contributing to ... decentralization in health care. (1) The rapidly increasing costs of traditional medicine ... (2) An awareness ... that equally or even more effective health alternatives and remedies are available ... (3) An attraction to the more individualized treatment afforded by alternative methods ... (4) A growing awareness of the role of self-healing and individualized health maintenance practices."
Related Topics: Life, The State
"There are a number of factors contributing to ... decentralization in health care. (1) The rapidly increasing costs of traditional medicine ... (2) An awareness ... that equally or even more effective health alternatives and remedies are available ... (3) An attraction to the more individualized treatment afforded by alternative methods ... (4) A growing awareness of the role of self-healing and individualized health maintenance practices."
Bad Medicine, by Sheldon Richman, Freedom Daily, Nov 2003
Health Insurance Scam, by Sheldon Richman, The Freeman, 13 Nov 2009
Explains why "health insurance" is not about health care, but rather medical care, is not insurance, how it came about, and why it has resulted in rising medical care costs
"When 1940s wartime economic controls prohibited pay increases for factory workers, the government allowed employers to provide medical coverage instead. Unlike wages, noncash benefits were not taxed and soon became part of labor negotiations. The tax advantage given to insurance versus cash wages brought forth ever more elaborate packages, which included coverage for uninsurable events, such as routine physical and dental exams."
Explains why "health insurance" is not about health care, but rather medical care, is not insurance, how it came about, and why it has resulted in rising medical care costs
"When 1940s wartime economic controls prohibited pay increases for factory workers, the government allowed employers to provide medical coverage instead. Unlike wages, noncash benefits were not taxed and soon became part of labor negotiations. The tax advantage given to insurance versus cash wages brought forth ever more elaborate packages, which included coverage for uninsurable events, such as routine physical and dental exams."
In Defense of a Free Market in Health Care, by Robert D. Helmholdt, 16 Apr 2004
Related Topic: Free Markets
Related Topic: Free Markets
Lowering the Cost of Health Care, by Ron Paul, Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 21 Aug 2006
"For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor."
"For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor."
Medicare Rx Reform: The Road to Medical Serfdom, by Sheldon Richman, Health Freedom Watch, 23 Jun 2003
Self-Deception about Medical Care, by Sheldon Richman, 15 Feb 2006
Related Topic: Government
"Long before there was Medicare and Medicaid, many people of modest and low income received decent medical care through fraternal organizations. Lodges would sign contracts with doctors, in effect buying services in bulk that ... would be distributed to members and their families at affordable prices."
Related Topic: Government
"Long before there was Medicare and Medicaid, many people of modest and low income received decent medical care through fraternal organizations. Lodges would sign contracts with doctors, in effect buying services in bulk that ... would be distributed to members and their families at affordable prices."
Socialism and Medicine, Part 1, by William L. Anderson, Freedom Daily, May 2008
Examines the economics of medical care in the United States over the past 60 years
"Until the post-World War II era, medical services were pay-as-you-go affairs. Those who could not afford the best care depended on charity hospitals or doctors who were willing to stretch out the payment structure. In other words, people purchased medical care the way that they purchased most other goods: directly and in close relationships with those people who provided the services."
Examines the economics of medical care in the United States over the past 60 years
"Until the post-World War II era, medical services were pay-as-you-go affairs. Those who could not afford the best care depended on charity hospitals or doctors who were willing to stretch out the payment structure. In other words, people purchased medical care the way that they purchased most other goods: directly and in close relationships with those people who provided the services."
Socialism and Medicine, Part 2, by William L. Anderson, Freedom Daily, Jun 2008
Related Topics: Canada, Capitalism, The Free Market, Socialism
Examines the economics of medical care in the United States, including the influence of third-party payers and comparisons to medical care in Canada
"It is clear that economic calculation is much clearer and more exact if one is not depending on third parties for payment, so it is not surprising that when insurance companies and government officials realized they did not have bottomless pits of cash to pay to medical professionals, they began to limit what they were willing to pay."
Related Topics: Canada, Capitalism, The Free Market, Socialism
Examines the economics of medical care in the United States, including the influence of third-party payers and comparisons to medical care in Canada
"It is clear that economic calculation is much clearer and more exact if one is not depending on third parties for payment, so it is not surprising that when insurance companies and government officials realized they did not have bottomless pits of cash to pay to medical professionals, they began to limit what they were willing to pay."
Socialism and Medicine, Part 3, by William L. Anderson, Freedom Daily, Jul 2008
Related Topic: The Free Market
Further examination of medical care in the United States, analyzing the calls for "mandates" for universal health care
"Because medical care has become a tool of the political classes, there is no way under the current system ... that it can develop as it would in a free market. Either medical professionals will throw more resources at medical care than are demanded in the market (the U.S. system) or they will throw fewer resources than for what people would be willing to pay, if they legally could do so (Canada, Great Britain, and other industrialized countries)."
Related Topic: The Free Market
Further examination of medical care in the United States, analyzing the calls for "mandates" for universal health care
"Because medical care has become a tool of the political classes, there is no way under the current system ... that it can develop as it would in a free market. Either medical professionals will throw more resources at medical care than are demanded in the market (the U.S. system) or they will throw fewer resources than for what people would be willing to pay, if they legally could do so (Canada, Great Britain, and other industrialized countries)."
Socialized Medicine in a Wealthy Country, by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., Mises.org Daily Article, 2 Dec 2006
Related Topics: Capitalism, Government, Life Extension, Socialism
"There are two popular images of socialized medicine. ... the delusional left ... imagine that if most health care were publicly provided and administered by the state, people of all social classes, age groups, and races and sexes, would have equal access. Enlightened public bureaucrats would make the essential decisions about health priorities."
Related Topics: Capitalism, Government, Life Extension, Socialism
"There are two popular images of socialized medicine. ... the delusional left ... imagine that if most health care were publicly provided and administered by the state, people of all social classes, age groups, and races and sexes, would have equal access. Enlightened public bureaucrats would make the essential decisions about health priorities."
Why is Medical Care so Expensive?, by Hans F. Sennholz, Mises.org Daily Article, 22 Aug 2006
"Few observers dare to state that spiraling health-care costs are the inevitable consequence of a 1965 Social Security amendment molding Medicare and Medicaid. ... Politicians representing the beneficiaries are demanding ever more outlays, others speaking and acting for the people who are forced to cover the deficits are opposing the charges."
"Few observers dare to state that spiraling health-care costs are the inevitable consequence of a 1965 Social Security amendment molding Medicare and Medicaid. ... Politicians representing the beneficiaries are demanding ever more outlays, others speaking and acting for the people who are forced to cover the deficits are opposing the charges."
Why We Need More 'Uninsured' Americans, by Carla Howell, 13 Apr 2006
"Neither patients nor providers have incentive to keep costs down. This encourages doctors to prescribe procedures you don't need — raising costs for insurance companies. They respond in turn by raising the price of your premiums, raising the amount you must pay for co-pays and deductibles, and reducing the services they cover."
"Neither patients nor providers have incentive to keep costs down. This encourages doctors to prescribe procedures you don't need — raising costs for insurance companies. They respond in turn by raising the price of your premiums, raising the amount you must pay for co-pays and deductibles, and reducing the services they cover."
Your Money or Your Life: Tackling Rising Costs in Health Care, by David J. Theroux, New York Tribune, 19 Jan 1984
Substance, not style, by Daniel Koffler, 9 Feb 2008
Related Topics: Barack Obama, Free Trade
Contrasts several of Obama's issue positions with those of Hillary Clinton and argues his approach could be called left-libertarianism
"Obama's preference for reducing healthcare costs while preserving the freedom to choose whether or not to participate in the healthcare system ... is not a one-off discrepancy without broader implications. ... Obama's healthcare plan is specifically designed to give people good reason to buy in, without coercing them."
Related Topics: Barack Obama, Free Trade
Contrasts several of Obama's issue positions with those of Hillary Clinton and argues his approach could be called left-libertarianism
"Obama's preference for reducing healthcare costs while preserving the freedom to choose whether or not to participate in the healthcare system ... is not a one-off discrepancy without broader implications. ... Obama's healthcare plan is specifically designed to give people good reason to buy in, without coercing them."
What Crisis?, by Scott McPherson, 18 Sep 2006
Related Topics: Rights
"There's no crisis here that hasn't been created by government interventionism. So-called patients' rights advocates claim that health-care workers have an ethical obligation to serve their patients. ... Those who feel that their religious liberty is being violated for being asked to perform tasks contrary to their beliefs are likewise missing the mark."
Related Topics: Rights
"There's no crisis here that hasn't been created by government interventionism. So-called patients' rights advocates claim that health-care workers have an ethical obligation to serve their patients. ... Those who feel that their religious liberty is being violated for being asked to perform tasks contrary to their beliefs are likewise missing the mark."
Winning the Battle for Freedom and Prosperity, by John Mackey, Liberty, Jun 2006
Related Topics: Business, Educational Freedom, Free Markets, Health, Life Extension, Personal Responsibility, Socialism
Updated from speech given at FreedomFest 2004
"Socialized health care seems very idealistic, and as such, appeals to many people. However, ... We know the single-payer system means health care rationing through queuing up in long lines for expensive treatments and denial of some services to many of the elderly as too expensive."
Related Topics: Business, Educational Freedom, Free Markets, Health, Life Extension, Personal Responsibility, Socialism
Updated from speech given at FreedomFest 2004
"Socialized health care seems very idealistic, and as such, appeals to many people. However, ... We know the single-payer system means health care rationing through queuing up in long lines for expensive treatments and denial of some services to many of the elderly as too expensive."
Cartoons
Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall!, by Chuck Asay, Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, 10 Jan 2008
Books
Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care?
by Richard A. Epstein, 1997
by Richard A. Epstein, 1997
- ISBN 0201136473
: Hardcover, Addison Wesley Publishing, 1997
- ISBN 0738201898
: Paperback, Perseus Books Group, 2000
The Dangers of Socialized Medicine
by Jacob G. Hornberger (Editor), Richard M. Ebeling (Editor), The Future of Freedom Foundation, 1994
by Jacob G. Hornberger (Editor), Richard M. Ebeling (Editor), The Future of Freedom Foundation, 1994
- ISBN 0964044706
: Paperback, Future of Freedom Foundation, 1994