Well, for all those who say "a free market does exist": I don't consider a market as strictly regulated in terms of manufacturing (FDA) as well as in pricing (at least in Germany, and IIRC in the US anywhere Medicare/Medicaid is involved) as a truly free market.
That being said, the medical sector needs extreme regulation for obvious purposes (eg. to give all people access to adequate health care, not only the rich, and to make sure that the products do what advertised and do not kill the patients). What has been missing in the US is a compulsory insurance scheme...
Well, for all those who say "a free market does exist": I don't consider a market as strictly regulated in terms of manufacturing (FDA) as well as in pricing (at least in Germany, and IIRC in the US anywhere Medicare/Medicaid is involved) as a truly free market.
Not only that, but sick people are making choices that, while technically free choices, are typically dilemmas, Catch-22s, Hobson's choices or worse: Sophie's choice.
Comments
Well, for all those who say "a free market does exist": I don't consider a market as strictly regulated in terms of manufacturing (FDA) as well as in pricing (at least in Germany, and IIRC in the US anywhere Medicare/Medicaid is involved) as a truly free market.
That being said, the medical sector needs extreme regulation for obvious purposes (eg. to give all people access to adequate health care, not only the rich, and to make sure that the products do what advertised and do not kill the patients). What has been missing in the US is a compulsory insurance scheme...
Well, for all those who say "a free market does exist": I don't consider a market as strictly regulated in terms of manufacturing (FDA) as well as in pricing (at least in Germany, and IIRC in the US anywhere Medicare/Medicaid is involved) as a truly free market.
Not only that, but sick people are making choices that, while technically free choices, are typically dilemmas, Catch-22s, Hobson's choices or worse: Sophie's choice.