

Public Policy That Makes Test Subjects of Us All - ojbyrne
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/science/07tier.html

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noonespecial
_The city’s health commissioner, Thomas R. Frieden, has enumerated the
results. If the food industry follows the city’s wishes, the health
department’s Web site announces, “that action will lower health care costs..._

Hidden in all of the nonsense is the scary grain of truth. As healthcare
becomes more socialized and less free market oriented, the government will
have ever greater incentives to _force_ whatever they think is healthy (at the
time) on you in order to save a buck.

Its one thing for the government to warn you that transfats are unhealthy
(even by forcing manufacturers to label products as such). Its quite another
thing to decide that since they are paying for all or part of your healthcare,
you no longer have the right to eat transfats and increase their costs.

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inklesspen
"the government will have ever greater incentives to force whatever they think
is healthy (at the time) on you in order to save a buck"

You mean, as opposed to the way the health insurance companies reduce coverage
and claim pre-existing conditions and in general do everything they can to
make you pay more, and get less, in order to save a buck?

I'm sorry, buddy. The free market has failed. I'll take government-style
health care like they have in Canada over what we have here. At least then we
can vote the sons of bitches out if they pull shenanigans.

~~~
noonespecial
I agree that the current system is broken. I actually think that "health
insurance" tied to employment as it currently stands is the opposite of free
market but I can still switch health insurance providers much more easily than
I can politicians.

I know 2 different Canadians who have flown to the US to get MRI's instead of
waiting the months required to get them in Canada. I'm not convinced "Canadian
style" is the best way either.

What I'm most afraid of though, isn't another failed healthcare system, _Ayn
Rand_ style, or _People's Republic_ style. Its when a politician decides that
my body in some way belongs to him and he can decide what I can eat. That's
what I'm gettin at here; I'm certainly open to debate the merits of different
healthcare systems. I just wanted to point out that particular unintended
consequence/perverse incentive.

~~~
kragen
That perverse incentive has concerned me for a while, but I'm less worried
about it now that I'm living in Argentina. Argentina has a sort of hybrid
public/private healthcare system with universal coverage paid by the
government, so the perverse incentive in question does exist here. And the
government isn't extremely accountable, doesn't work very well, and in some
ways is much more intrusive than the US government. Nevertheless, they seem to
handle this problem pretty well. If it's not a big problem here, I think it
isn't likely to be a big problem in general.

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anamax
Remember when eggs were bad?

Does anyone think that an "egg tax" would have been eliminated when we found
out that eggs weren't as bad as previously assumed?

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sketerpot
Moral of the story: keep most of the country as a control group for a while.
It's the scientific way.

Seriously, this article wouldn't apply if only the government meddling was on
a smaller, more controlled scale.

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sachinag
This strikes me as relatively good journalism.

