The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Wish We'd Cared More

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In an excellent essay for National Affairs on the importance of the "new commanding heights" of the economy (health care and education, according to the authors), Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz reference a 2008 Spectator article about health care by Philip Klein. The piece, "Learning to Care About Health Care," was about how crucial it was for free-marketers to understand the necessity of reforming health care and take control of the process before liberals did. Seems prescient now.

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c. j. acworth| 7.15.11 @ 6:40PM

Same thing could've been said about the debt, and entitlements. As I recall, the Stupid Party had both Houses of congress and the Oval Office for a time, and did nothing but make things worse. Have they learned anything from their time in the wilderness? Sure hope so.

Occam's Tool| 7.15.11 @ 9:34PM

I cared from 1991. I voted for Bush against Clinton.

Clint| 7.16.11 @ 3:48AM

Dr.Ron Paul,
"the congressional Joint Economic committee on which I serve held a hearing featuring two courageous medical doctors. I had the pleasure of meeting with one of the witnesses, Dr. Robert Berry, who opened a low-cost health clinic in rural Tennessee. His clinic does not accept insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, which allows Dr. Berry to treat patients without interference from third-party government bureaucrats or HMO administrators. In other words, Dr. Berry practices medicine as most doctors did 40 years ago, when patients paid cash for ordinary services and had inexpensive catastrophic insurance for serious injuries or illnesses. As a result, Dr. Berry and his patients decide for themselves what treatment is appropriate.

Freed from HMO and government bureaucracy, Dr. Berry can focus on medicine rather than billing. Operating on a cash basis lowers his overhead considerably, allowing him to charge much lower prices than other doctors. He often charges just $35 for routine maladies, which is not much more than one's insurance co-pay in other offices. His affordable prices enable low-income patients to see him before minor problems become serious, and unlike most doctors, Dr. Berry sees patients the same day on a walk-in basis. Yet beyond his low prices and quick appointments, Dr. Berry provides patients with excellent medical care."