This is absurd. Even in a country with liberal economics and "free choice" health system (however with universal care, and state regulation), the same stitches in a world-class private clinic in Santiago, Chile would cost 400 USD, before insurance . The clinics there are not the ones Americans imagine from a middle-income country, most of them have better infrastructure and doctors than the ones I know in Europe. And…
> example of the benefits of free market economy Healthcare is rarely a good example of the free market. Medical decisions aren’t made by comparing costs between providers. And if you’re in rural America, you’re lucky if you have any provider. Price transparency would be nice, but maybe not as helpful as you’d like. Let’s say you’re in the middle of a rural area and the ER says you need stitches — but they cost $6000…
To name a few with healthcare:
Information Asymmetry. It should be expected that a patient does not know what a Level IV emergency is and the complete ins and outs of how they are going to be charged. I'd argue that the industry has intentionally amplified this market failure. Furthermore, patients are often left with the final decision, but who is going to disagree with a trained professional on their required treatment? It's like going to a mechanic when you have no idea what's wrong with your car. You kind of are trusting the mechanic isn't taking advantage of you (and that is regulated). Or you have to reduce the asymmetry by learning about the basics of cars.
Medical research has the attributes of a public good: Non-excludability and non-rivalrous - when something is discovered it's generally known to everyone without dropping in supply and the information is available to everyone (yes the product which results is rivalrous and excludable in the same country, hence it works as a private good - but then that product has non-competitive markets).
Non-competitive markets with respect to rural areas are also mentioned in the article. Much like the issue with utility companies and broadband providers (the latter of which was shown to be a partial public good in the US with the infrastructure bill).