The Health-Care ‘Wedge’ Fix (Laffer,WSJ Opinion 8/5/09)
of patient power does work well. Not only the > 8 M Americans
with Health Savings Accounts (dumped in present plan of Congress)
but my patients, many uninsured, are happy with the availability,
thrift and quality of paying (much less) at the time of care.

Weekly, I see many patients who regret care like Congress plans.
Examples: HMO, ER or Medicaid clinic treated negative X-rays with
just cough syrup, but careful exam finds rales, indicating antibiotic
for early pneumonia. Patients with back pain get pain pills
and a work excuse when my careful deep palpation often reveals
tender spots, curable like shoulder bursitis.

I confirm Laffer’s “Fix” many times daily: patient power, not regulation,
reduces costs while improving quality. It is a worthy corollary
to the famous Laffer documentation that lower taxes bring more revenue.