Health Care Roundup — VOICES for REASONVOICES for REASON

Here are some interesting and informative articles I’ve come across in following the debate on health care reform:

• Legislators and health care leaders are trying to figure out what to do about the shortage of physicians in Arizona. Whenever I hear about a lasting shortage, I suspect government interference in the marketplace because shortages don’t last very long on a free market (check out my post from earlier this year about how government controls in the drug market are contributing to the severe shortage of critical drugs). When it comes to physician supply, as this article points out, the government is very much involved—for example, the federal government funds most residency slots and has capped the number of slots for the last fifteen years.
• Businesses are learning that ObamaCare will substantially increase their health care costs and some may consequently drop coverage for their employees (at least 30% of employers are expected to do this ).
• Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute details some of the latest concerns with ObamaCare, including how it is contributing to the student loans crisis making headlines recently.
• It’s widely recognized that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are in fiscal crisis. This New York Times article highlights another, lesser known entitlement program that is on the verge of collapse: disability insurance.