20 Aug 2009 Quote of Note: Under Socialized Medicine, Rationing is Inevitable

Posted at 03:26h in Articles, Blog, Health by

“As FA Hayek pointed out many years ago in his masterpiece, The Constitution of Liberty, if healthcare is paid for out of general taxation and delivered free at the point of delivery, then in a world of scarce resources – and healthcare is always constrained at any time by the supply of doctors, drugs, etc – then such care must be rationed by some form of bureaucratic/political rule…

…Now a socialist might respond that it is still better for health care to be rationed by some rule they consider to be ‘fair’ than by the supposed lottery of the market, although in fact, as I would respond, there is, due to the benefits of competition and entrepreneurship, far greater chance that all but the poorest will get better healthcare under a genuine free market in health than under the system of centralised, state-provided healthcare.”

-Johnathan Pearce, “Under Socialised Medicine, Tough Rationing Choices are Inevitable,” Samizdata.net, August 19, 2009

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