As reported in the Washington Times, “more than 50 leading U.S. economists and professors have signed an open letter warning that the proposed “Medicare for All” plans to place Americans on a government-run system would trigger shortages, degrade quality and discourage medical innovation.”
Below, you can read the Open Letter:
Open Letter from Economists on Medicare for All plans:
Americans should have access to the health care they need and have insurance protection for medical expenses they cannot afford. We, the undersigned economists, believe the proposed Medicare for All plans would lead to shortages throughout the health sector that would restrict access to care, undermine quality, lead to innovation-stifling price controls, and adversely impact the economy. Derivatives, such as Medicare buy-in and the public option, are incremental steps toward the same result.
Medicare for All would eliminate the coverage millions of Americans rely on through employer- and union-sponsored plans and many other services that exist today, putting virtually all Americans on one government-run system.
The United States does not have a properly functioning market in the health sector due in part to the reimburse-the-supplier insurance model, but the solution is not more and bigger government that would inevitably impose price controls further distorting the market. Federal spending under Medicare for All would increase by more than $32 trillion over 10 years, leading to dramatic tax hikes for families and businesses that would depress economic growth and discourage investments in medical innovations.
The solution is creating a more efficient market for medical care and medical insurance that would restrain costs through competition, improved and transparent information, and consumer incentives rather than through destructive methods such as price controls and limits on private care choices.
Signed,
1. Michael Boskin – Former Chairman, White House Council of Economic Advisers
2. James Miller III – Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
3. Vernon Smith – Chapman University & & 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics
4. Brian Adam – Oklahoma State University
5. Anup Agrawal – University of Alabama
6. Thakor Anjan – Washington University in St. Louis
7. Don Bellante – University of South Florida
8. David Bessler – Texas A&M Regents Professor Emeritus
9. Elizabeth Bogan – Princeton University
10. Donald Boudreaux – George Mason University
11. Edgar Browning – Texas A&M University (Emeritus)
12. Henry Butler – George Mason University
13. Michael Clark – Hillsdale College
14. Kenneth Clarkson – University of Miami (Emeritus)
15. Steven Davis – University of Chicago
16. Paul Feldstein – University of California, Irvine (Emeritus)
17. Bruce Forster – University of Nebraska, Kearney (Emeritus)
18. Adam Gifford – California State University, Northridge
19. John Goodman – Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research
20. William Green – Sam Houston State University
21. Dennis Halcoussis – California State University, Northridge
22. Thomas Hall – Miami University
23. David Henderson – Hoover Institution
24. Randall Holcombe – Florida State University
25. Daniel Houser – George Mason University
26. Thomas Hubbard – Northwestern University
27. John D. Johnson – Utah State University, Huntsman School of Business
28. J R Kearl – Brigham Young University
29. Ray Keating, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
30. Anne Krueger – School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
31. Tin-Chun Lin – Indiana University – Northwest
32. Jody Lipford – Presbyterian College
33. Edward Lopez – Western Carolina University
34. Joseph Magaddino – California State University Long Beach
35. Yuri Maltsev – Carthage College
36. Michael Marlow – Cal Poly, SLO
37. Christopher Martin – Hillsdale College
38. Merrill Matthews – Institute for Policy Innovation
39. John Merrifield – University of Texas San Antonio
40. James Moncur – University of Hawaii at Manoa
41. Sandra Odorzynski – Emerita – St. Norbert College
42. James Owen – Midwestern State University
43. William Peirce – Case Western Reserve Univ., emeritus
44. Steve Pociask, American Consumer Institute
45. Ivan Pongracic – Hillsdale College
46. Thomas Saving – Texas A&M University, retired
47. Peter Schwarz – UNC Charlotte
48. Nejat Seyhun – University of Michigan
49. Edward A. Snyder – Yale University
50. Frank Stafford – University of Michigan
51. Charles N. Steele – Hillsdale College
52. Edward Timmons – Saint Francis University
53. Dwaine Wilford – The Citadel
54. Nancy Yonge – Golden Gate University
55. Benjamin Zycher – American Enterprise Institut