The American Health Care System Is a Major Impediment to Better Outcomes

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There's no doubt that the politicization of health care is a major impediment to better outcomes. Most of the work at the Federal Reserve with which I'm familiar is really buffered from political consideration. You will never find a lobbyist or a special interest influencing the Fed funds rate, at least not directly to my knowledge.

Steven Lipstein, President and CEO of BJC HealthCare--a $3 billion hospital system in St. Louis, Missouri--talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of hospitals. They discuss pricing, the advantages and disadvantages of specialization in modern medical care, and culture and governance of non-profit hospitals vs. for-profit hospitals. At the end they talk about the positives and negatives of a national health board patterned after the Federal Reserve.