Like me at Spot-on today, Arnold Kling is also writing about the US-UK  health differentials in Minding the Health Gap. I basically agree with him (and at some point I’ll put up a review of his interesting book Crisis of Abundance). It’s good to see that he seems to have stopped the BS about how rationing happens abroad but not here. I have some nits to pick with his assessment of the It’s the Prices, Stupid argument. And his potential solutions which include multi-layered, multi-year high deductible insurance contracts are so complex as to be incomprehensible, let alone workable in a world where people don’t understand Medicare Part D.

But his identification of the lack of a link between health spending and overall outcomes is correct. Of course I think that logically that should lead us to both limiting the amount of premium medicine and the costs for it visited on those who need it. I’m not sure Kling joins me on that part of the journey.