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October 18, 2007
Congress Playing Doctor: A Footnote
My esteemed colleague Paul Howard---man of letters, bon vivant, connoisseur of fine whiskey---notes below the supreme irony of Congressional complaints about bureaucratic meddling in medical practice, as Congress routinely passes laws forcing such meddling by the bureaucrats. Paul did not delve very deeply into the EPO case, but it is fascinating as well as instructive: Congress established overly generous reimbursement rates for EPO (anti-anemia drugs used heavily by cancer patients) use, which led to significant overuse in individual patients. And now Congress is complaining about efforts on the part of the bureaucrats to reduce this distortion. Let this be a warning of the perversities lurking behind every twist and turn were the U.S. to adopt a single-payer system of health insurance.
Posted by Benjamin Zycher at October 18, 2007 04:01 PM
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