Plenty of readers responded to David Goldhill’s Atlantic article, “How American Health Care Killed My Father.” Some agreed with him; others took the line predicted in the original Locker Room blog entry on the topic.
Within Goldhill’s response to the letters, I found this passage especially interesting:
Others believe it is unrealistic to expect consumers to shop around for
health-care services when they have an urgent medical need. I agree,
but such behavior is not essential to the success of a
consumer-centered system. Think about most of the products and services
we buy: few of us are active, price-comparing, quality-grading
consumers. But some of us are, and that puts pressure on vendors across
the board to improve the value of their wares. (We all benefit from the
low prices at Wal-Mart, whether or not we shop there.) Price
transparency would be an essential part of consumer-based reform, and
competition among providers for the most discerning patients would
drive lower prices and better service for everyone.
