Why Health Care Costs So Much: A Book Review

By John R. Graham

"Greg Dattilo and Dave Racer are two insurance men with lots of
experience and understanding of what's right and wrong in U.S. health
care. Every couple of years they write a book, and they've just
published Why Health Care Costs So Much: The Solution - Consumers.

It's a rare book (actually a "booklet") about health policy that is
fun to read (Top Ten Myths of American Health Care being another
recent example.) Plus, at 80 pages (including drawings) and
available in bulk for only $1.50 each, you can buy a box and hand
them out like religious tracts.

For those with neither the time nor inclination to wade through
economic analysis, this book explains how government interference has
driven up costs and harmed choice in American health care.

Because of government intervention, almost no patients know how much
their health care costs, so the "system" has to rely on a
bureaucratic web to fix prices, which results in frustration and loss
of control by patients and providers.

They illustrate this superbly with the example of prepaid automotive
care substituting for auto insurance. Instead of buying a new set of
tires when he needs them, the driver pays an astronomical premium to
have his car insurer take care of everything.

As a result, he loses his choice of tire and tire shop. Ultimately,
the auto insurer contracts with only one tire shop in the driver's
neighborhood, resulting in monopoly.

They also explain how we can take control of our health spending by
buying low-premium, consumer-driven health policies coupled with
Health Savings Accounts, which leave patients in direct control of
more of their health-care dollars.

Importantly, they teach individuals how to buy health care like we
buy other goods and services. They advise patients to ask hospitals
before treatment, "what would I pay if I were uninsured?", before
treatment, in order to avoid the insane list prices that hospitals
charge.

The authors promise that this book is the first in a series of six.
I look forward to the next five."

http://www.statehousecall.org/