09 Nov 2009 Quote of Note: Government-Run Health Care Results in Fewer Doctors

Posted at 18:08h in Articles, Blog, Health by

“Long waits and shortages result from government control of the health sector. There are only so many hospitals, only so many doctors. When government promises that everyone will be treated (ostensibly) gratis, it does not simultaneously conjure more doctors into existence. Instead, doctors face more patients, who are now likely to seek treatment more often because they perceive it to be free. The result is long lines, long waits, substandard care.

But it’s worse than that. Not only does the socialization of medicine fail to produce more doctors, it actually shrinks the pool. In our free-market system, being a good doctor can be financially rewarding. This matters, because becoming a good doctor is a long, arduous, expensive proposition. Remove the profit incentive and you are guaranteed to have fewer doctors.”

-Matt Patterson, “Government Health Care Adds Insult to Injury,” Policy Analyst, The National Center for Public Policy Research, TownHall.com, October 22, 2009

Note: This post was edited after publishing to correct Matt’s title. He is a policy analyst at the National Center for Public Policy Research, not a senior fellow.

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The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.