Originally Posted by martinguerre

i think about bad health care as a market externality. ustwo, this is for you.

being a good consumer take time. most purchases, a little research will quickly identify some good options, and help a consumer select a good product at a fair price. however, if a system of pricing becomes confusing and byzantine in arcane details....

Then the consumer spends time, time that could be used to make income and be productive, and uses it to secure only minimal gains against a complex pricing scheme. Quality is not being assured by market pressure, since consumers often lack the information to make cogent decisions, and competition is restricted by the urgency which accompanies most health care decisions. Instead of accepting the cost of making health care easier to access and choose levels of care, the current system passes the cost on to the consumer. Lost time equals lost wages. Low and behold, we have ourselves a market inefficiency!

Where's your invisable hand now?