PragerU Video: Government Can’t Fix Health Care

The government has repeatedly meddled with the health care sector for years; its efforts have only made health care worse in America. The government tends to worsen anything its grubby hands touch, but with health care, the issue is that the government is a third-party payer.

Former Rep. Bob McEwen (R-OH) explains in PragerU’s latest video that people typically look for products that are of the highest quality at the lowest possible price, which is known as a first-party purchase.

There’s also a concept known as second-party purchase, where you’re “buying something for somebody else.” In this instance, the price matters to the person paying for the product more than the quality does. Consumers who end up receiving something that somebody else paid for also care more about the quality than the price.

But in third-party purchases, the purchaser doesn’t care about either price or quality because they’re paying with other people’s money for a product they won’t be using.

“By definition, all government purchases are third-party purchases. The government spends other people’s money on things it won’t consume,” said McEwen. “It doesn’t care about the price or the quality. Thus, there will always be waste in government spending.”

Therefore the inefficiency and waste associated with bureaucracy permeates the health care system and worsens care for everyone.

The goal should instead be returning America’s health care system to that of a first-party purchase, where Americans can choose any plan that they feel is best suited for their medical needs.

“Insurance companies and hospitals would be working night and day to get our business. Quality would go up, and prices would go down,” said McEwen. “It’s already happened with laser eye surgery. It used to cost $2,200 per eye. Now it can cost as low as $500 per eye. That’s the way free enterprise competition works … every time.”

The full video can be seen below:

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