With the Democrats back in Congressional majority, there’s more talk of health care regulation, and perhaps even a Canada-style socialized-medicine approach. Dr. David Gratzer is the author of a new book, The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care, and — as the foreword by Milton Friedman might suggest — he suggests a very different approach. Gratzer, a Canadian physician who has practiced in both the Canadian and American medical systems, looks at the flaws in both approaches, and observes: “The problem and the predicament of American health care can be stated in a single, paradoxical sentence: Everyone agrees that it’s the best in the world, but nobody really likes it.”
We discuss HMO’s, single-payor, Health Savings Accounts, and how Wilbur Mills and Fanne Fox (well, mostly Wilbur Mills) played a major role in creating today’s problems. Plus, what to do about them.
You can listen directly — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file directly by clicking right here. There’s a lo-fi version for dialup available here, and, of course, you can subscribe via iTunes (we like that) by clicking right here. Show archives with past episodes are here.
This podcast brought to you by Volvo USA. Music is “Submarine on Europa,” by Mobius Dick. More about Mobius Dick here and here.