Medical Trade: The Ultimate Check on U.S. Health Care Costs

Dean Baker reminds us that the status quo in health care still cannot hold:

The NYT had an article on the surge in the number of people who are traveling to Mexico for medical care. This is hardly ideal, but since our political system is too corrupted by the insurers, the doctors, the drug companies and others who benefit from the waste in the health care system, this is likely to be the way in which the system is eventually reformed. People will vote with their feet and take advantage of the more efficient health care systems in other countries.

It's too bad that the economics profession is so corrupt that almost none of them ever discuss the barriers to trade in health care services and how they can be eliminated. A small protectionist barrier that might boost the pay of a steelworker drives economists up the wall, but huge barriers that cost U.S. consumers hundreds of billions annually -- and jeopardize their health -- do not seem to bother economists.