Health Alert | Why are There Collectivists?

In a previous Health Alert I argued that the real issue in health reform is not health care. It is collectivism. The natural follow-up question is: Why is anybody a collectivist? It's easy to understand why people are individualists. We're all the product of selfish genes. But where does collectivism come from? Why does it persist?

To answer that question, I first need to explain the problem that needs to be solved.

In a world of rational, self-interested robots, there would not be what we conventionally think of as a collectivist. There would never arise a Lenin or a Stalin or a Hitler or a Mao Tse Tung. There would not be millions of entities subscribing to their various ideologies. Nor would there be any Franklin Roosevelts or any welfare state liberals.

Continue Reading at John Goodman's Health Blog. 

Concierge Medicine: Convenient and Affordable Care

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Retail Clinics: Convenient and Affordable Care

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Medicare at 55

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Applying the Lessons of State Health Reform

Lack of health insurance is a significant, persistent problem in New Jersey. In 2007, more than 1.3 million residents were uninsured - three-fourths were working-age adults 19 to 64 years old. About 15.6 percent of New Jersey residents are uninsured, which is close to the national average, and the U.S. Census Bureau recently ranked New Jersey 34th among states in the percentage of residents with insurance coverage.

Crisis of the Uninsured: 2009

One of the primary goals of health reform is to ensure that all Americans have health insurance. Yet it is generally overlooked that the proportion of Americans without health coverage has been relatively stable over time. According to the Census Bureau, in 2008 the number of individuals in the United States lacking health coverage rose from 45.7 million to 46.3 million. The proportion of uninsured Americans remained virtually unchanged, rising from 15.3 percent to 15.4 percent.