As noted in earlier posts, we believe that common sense is often a much better guide to  economic policy than the schemes that our “leaders” come up with.  Consider this example.  Imagine what would happen to the price of hotel rooms if:

• The guest does not have to pay for the room.  Someone else pays.
• No matter what room you pick, fancy or not, someone else gets the bill.
• The prices for the rooms and all of the guest services are hidden. The price doesn’t really matter, though, because someone else pays.
• People can enjoy the rooms and guest services whenever they feel the need.
• If you use a room and don’t have someone else pre-arranged to pay, that’s no problem, the hotel operator can hide your bill inside the bill of those who do pay.

If customers don’t know or care how much rooms cost, what will happen to prices?  The customers have no incentive at all to be careful with money.  Quite the opposite.  They will demand their fair share of this service and they will want the best that someone else’s money can buy.

The provision of medical care is very much like that.  If you ask a provider how much a medical service will cost, you are likely to be met with a surprised look.  Asking how much a procedure costs is the exception, not the norm.  Since cost does not matter to the individual consumer, costs are rising rapidly.

In parts of medical care where the consumer is more likely to pay directly, like cosmetic services or laser eye surgery, costs are directly controlled by the consumer.  Prices must remain at a level acceptable to cost-conscious consumers.

A group of Doctors in Oklahoma who realized the insanity of the current system decided to do something about it.  They have successfully attacked the high cost of medical care in a way that should be a model for the nation.  Take a look:

As you evaluate their approach, remember that all it does is dramatically reduce the cost of medical care.  It does not give politicians or unions more power.  So it’s not an option they would want to consider.  For them, it’s all about power.