Submitted by John House, Jan 23, 2008 20:16

Before we advocate something, it would be prudent to define what we mean. When we understand that, we can define what we expect.

For as long as I can remember, and I am an old guffer, health care costs increased at approximately double the rate of general inflation, which is the proportion that an effective monopoly uses when raising its prices. For each dollar of increase I sustain, I increase my price by two dollars. This is commonly called a monopoly gap. The possibility that it exist must be tested with specific health care cost inputs and outputs. The possibility is interesting.

There are other hints that the health care industries seem to behave as a monopolies:

> Withholding innovations and products from market, ie DMSO has documented therapeutic value, but no pharmaceutical company will produce it for human use.
> Controlling the number of doctors entering the market, ie in 2007, 24,000 resident positions exist in the United States, but medical schools graduate only 18,000 MDs each year and turn away qualified students
> Artificially setting different prices for different markets, as we are doing with pharmaceuticals manufactured in Europe, but imported the the United States.
> There is no price level where effective demand can be satisfied when it comes to people we love and perceive as having potential to enjoy life.

If the health care industries, or segments within them, are behaving as monopolies, we need to research and understand why this happens. We can then regulate the industry to create market-based competition, or constrain the monopoly power to confirm to public interests.

This is a reasonable possibility that deserves a closer look.

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