We all know that other wealthy countries pay less than half as much per person for health care yet enjoy better health outcomes. Why is there such complete refusal from the media to ever discuss the enormous potential for gains from trade from allowing people in the United States to take advantage of more efficient health care systems elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, the New York Times, like most news outlets leaves its coverage to hard core protectionists who would never consider the idea of subjecting the U.S. health care system to international competition. The protectionism in health care is unfortunate because the economic costs of this protectionism dwarf the cost of protection, actual or proposed, in other sectors of the economy. It would be appropriate to have an article that discussed protectionism in the health care sector in the context of the Smoot-Hawley tariff and other protectionist measures in the Great Depression.
--Dean Baker
