madfranks
29th September 2010, 02:26 PM
http://mises.org/daily/4719
Snippet -
The same laws of economics apply to any other service, such as, for example, healthcare services that are very specific and, in Canada, provided by a centrally planned, legalized monopoly that does not charge a direct per-unit price. Instead of the money price, this organization must rely on a nonmonetary mechanism of managing the demand for its services, such as administrative procedures and, unavoidably, waiting times.
...Given the current structure of the Canadian healthcare system, the long patient wait times are here to stay. Those that believe the problem could be solved by increasing the supply of health services ignore the large demand effect of a reduction in wait times. Others, who believe that waiting is an unavoidable fact of life, ignore the fact that the long wait times are an artifact of the "priceless," politically administered supply system.
When the price is not allowed to perform its function of supply-and-demand rationing, something else will.[3] In the case of the Canadian healthcare system, this price substitute is time. But many of us may not be aware of the destructive nature of this hidden and steep price tag. While the unseen costs are always easily ignored, they are constantly eating up the economy's productive resources.
Snippet -
The same laws of economics apply to any other service, such as, for example, healthcare services that are very specific and, in Canada, provided by a centrally planned, legalized monopoly that does not charge a direct per-unit price. Instead of the money price, this organization must rely on a nonmonetary mechanism of managing the demand for its services, such as administrative procedures and, unavoidably, waiting times.
...Given the current structure of the Canadian healthcare system, the long patient wait times are here to stay. Those that believe the problem could be solved by increasing the supply of health services ignore the large demand effect of a reduction in wait times. Others, who believe that waiting is an unavoidable fact of life, ignore the fact that the long wait times are an artifact of the "priceless," politically administered supply system.
When the price is not allowed to perform its function of supply-and-demand rationing, something else will.[3] In the case of the Canadian healthcare system, this price substitute is time. But many of us may not be aware of the destructive nature of this hidden and steep price tag. While the unseen costs are always easily ignored, they are constantly eating up the economy's productive resources.