Over at UNC Chapel Hill, students say the campus medical facility for undergraduates is old and inconveniently located. They want a new one — until they’re told they need to pay for it by raising student fees, or by finding private funds. Suddenly, it may not be such a pressing need after all.

As this story illustrates, when we pay for products or services ourselves, in full or in part, we think before we spend. We compare costs with benefits and prioritize our needs vs. our wants. Whether it’s deciding between burgers and steak, taking aspirin for a cold vs. going to the doctor, or whether or not a current facility is too “inconvenient,” this is human nature at work. When we are impacted directly by our choices, we think more carefully about those choices. If we expect to lower the cost of health care services, we must infuse the system with competition — which will drive down prices — and get the consumer directly involved. Otherwise, human nature allows us to easily abdicate responsibility to “them” when the responsibility should be with “us.”

JLF’s Joe Coletti discusses consumer-driven health care in this brief interview.