My Prescription for Health Costs

Just read that Sen. Frist proposed a two year moratorium on drug advertising saying "saying commercials drive up health care costs." Now this is not a dig on Frist, (I'm in a good mood so I won't ask Stalin to defend yet antoher GOPer interfering with the free market) but his comments did get me thinking. Why would advertising neccessarily drive up costs? Shouldn't the democratization of information drive down cost? The more people know about their choices the better. I've read that the increase comes from patients asking about drugs, and Dr.'s prescribing them, even if its not ideal or needed, but that's a problem with Dr.'s not the market. A patient should be able to say, "Hey I heard about the drug "Stalimone," I need something that makes me obtuse, condensending, and unable to process new, divergent information." To which the Dr. can say, "While the drug "Stalimone" does bring peace because you don't have to worry about thinking, its not right for you, so I'm sorry, but no." But what is missing from the ads, and this is fairly unique, is any price info. That's the key. I know that most people are insured and don't really care about costs, but the only way for a free market to work in health-care is to start educating people on price.

So here's my plan. This is not a dramatic, "now that this happened all is well" type of plan, but it lays the foundation. Much like no matter how good the lose weight now ads are, you still only lose weight gradually, and with work. first, mandate that drug ads have an equivilant to a MSRP. This begins the training on cost. Training that is neccessary if we are ever to get a handle on rising health-care costs. Then also mandate that Dr.'s must post prices, give estimates, and show total billing before any work is done. If my mechanic must tell me how much a new transmission is going to cost so should my Dr. Then I can begin to place medical services on some sort of price line. It's easier to shop around, and I will be better prepared to pay my own way, a must if a free market is ever to take hold here. As it stands, medicine is like a former communist econonmy. The consumers have no idea what stuff should cost, or can cost. Open up pricing to us, and prices will come down. They always do.

Free prices to the masses, free prices to the masses, free prices to the masses*

*I need to work on my chant.