Monday, September 24, 2007

Consumer Choice

How do you know when consumers have too much choice, if such a thing is possible?

Well, for all the economists out there who think that putting health care dollars into the hands of consumers will improve their price sensitivity and drive the system to better results (i.e. mitigate the unwanted effects of what Arnold Kling calls "insulation"), there is this tidbit:

The Dole-Shalala commission, convened after the failures at Walter Reed, is recommending recovery care coordinators, who will assist people in understanding the full range of benefits and options.

This is what people seem to want. Rather than 'just-in-time insurance', they would like "information care", when they need it, not to invest time and money in advance.

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