Full article posted at Health Affairs
For generations, economists, political scientists, and pundits have mused about the symbiotic relationship between government and business. Robert I. Field’s Mother of Invention adds to this rich tradition by dissecting the role of government and the private health care market in the debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“Keep government out of my health care,” was the mantra of health reform’s critics. Field asserts that this perception misses a key point. His main thesis is that the government is already deeply and irrevocably ensconced in the private health care sector. Indeed, private health care businesses have reached the scale they have because government has been their chief enabler.
Field notes that the government is most often understood to be playing the role of a regulator of the private …
“Keep government out of my health care,” was the mantra of health reform’s critics. Field asserts that this perception misses a key point. His main thesis is that the government is already deeply and irrevocably ensconced in the private health care sector. Indeed, private health care businesses have reached the scale they have because government has been their chief enabler.
Field notes that the government is most often understood to be playing the role of a regulator of the private …