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

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