Hello all,
I am a first-year medical student and I am interested in establishing a stronger background in the economics of health care. Since I live in new orleans, I contacted Dr. Block, who referred me to several articles. In addition, he recommended that I post my questions here.
I am not sure where to begin. Medicine touches upon so many issues. Are there any books that specifically deal with this topic?
I have a decent background in economics(classes in college, have been visiting this site for over 3 years, have read Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson, as well as ~300 pp. deep into Human Action)
Here is a copy of the correspondence with Dr. Block:
From: Blanchard, Adam J [mailto:ablanch1@tulane.edu]
Sent: Thu 5/6/2010 11:08 AM
To: wblock@loyno.edu
Subject: question about economics and medicine
Dr. Block:
I’m a recent(3 years ago) convert to libertarianism, and I thoroughly enjoy your articles on LewRockwell.com and Mises.org. I am a first-year medical student at Tulane, and I have been astounded by some of the viewpoints that my classmates espouse about U.S. health care reform. Ultimately, the debate is a moral one, so I know where I stand. However, I feel that I would be better equipped to defend what I believe if I was more knowledgeable about the history and economics of U.S. health care. I was hoping that you could recommend some literature on the evolution of medicine in the U.S. from a non-statist perspective. I realize that medicine broaches many economic/social issues such as intellectual property, market distortions, individual liberties, etc. Are there any books that delve into all of such aspects of health care? Or would I be better suited to investigate the topics separately, and then apply them to health care? Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Adam Blanchard
Here is his response:
Dear Adam:
Below, see a list of readings on this subject. This is but the tip of the iceberg. For more material, I suggest you search the Mises web, and register your letter here:https://forum.freecapitalists.org/
I am taking the liberty of asking my colleague Dan D’Amico to add you to our list of people to whom we notify of libertarian events in NO.
Best regards,
Walter
Walter E. Block, Ph.D.
Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Prof. of Economics
College of Business
Loyola University New Orleans
6363 St. Charles Ave., Box 15
New Orleans, LA 70118
tel: (504)864-7934
fax: (504)864-7970
wblock@loyno.edu
Block, 2003; Friedman, 1962; Goodman and Musgrave, 1992; Gratzer, 2005; Hamowy, 1984; Herbener, 1996; Hoppe, 1993; Johnson, et.al., 1998; Laydon and Block, 1996; Terrell, 2003.
Block, Walter. 2003. “Socialized Medicine is the Problem,” Surgical Neurology, Vol. 60, No. 5, November, pp. 467-46
Friedman, Milton. 1962. Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, chapter 9
Goodman, John C. and Gerald L. Musgrave, 1992. Patient Power: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis. Washington D.C.: Cato
Gratzer, David. 2005. “The Return of HillaryCare: Socialized medicine is still not a good idea. The Weekly Standard. May 23;http://www.medicalprogresstoday.com/spotlight/spotlight_indarchive.php?id=778
Hamowy, Ronald. 1984. Canadian Medicine: A Study in Restricted Entry, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute
Herbener, Jeffrey. 1996. “Socialized Medicine, Take Two.” The Free Market. Vol. 14, No. 7, July. http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=172&sortorder=articledate
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1993. “A Four-Step Health-Care Solution.” The Free Market. Vol. 11, No. 4, April, pp. ; http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=279
Johnson, Clint, Walter Block and Thomas Oxner. 1998. “Notes on Health Care Financing and Free Markets,” Journal of Accounting, Ethics and Public Policy, Vol. 1, No. 3, Summer 1998, pp. 488-502.
Layden, William R. and Walter Block. 1996. “Health Security,” Nomos, July, No. 47/48, pp. 38-45
Terrell, Timothy D. 2003. “Socialized Medicine in America.” The Free Market. Vol. 23, No. 11, November; http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=458&sortorder=articledate