Health Care Costs and Federal Deficits Are the Same Crisis Requiring Supply-Side Deregulation
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "The Same Crisis Wearing Different Clothes | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." April 23, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
America's government spending problem and expensive health care are really the same issue. Government subsidies hide the true cost of medical care from patients, so nobody shops around or questions prices, making everything more expensive. The solution is to remove regulations that prevent competition and let market forces bring down costs.
Conclusion
America's spending crisis and health care crisis are the same problem that can only be solved through supply-side deregulation, not more government subsidies
Premises
- Federal deficits have become a structural threat to price stability, leading to inflation when debt grows faster than the economy
- Social Security and Medicare drive the deficit problem, with Medicare projected to grow faster than the economy indefinitely
- The US spends 18.5% of national income on health care, double the OECD average, making it the world's most expensive system
- Government subsidies through Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance regulations insulate patients from costs, eliminating price discipline
- When patients don't pay out of pocket, they don't question whether services are worth the cost, and providers have no incentive to reduce prices
- Supply-side deregulation (removing insurance regulations, FDA monopolies, prescription requirements, certificate-of-need laws, and licensing restrictions) would significantly reduce health care costs
- Reducing underlying health care costs is necessary to control Medicare and Medicaid spending, which is essential for fiscal sustainability
Assumptions
- Market mechanisms with price transparency naturally control costs better than government subsidies
- Patients will make rational cost-benefit decisions when they bear the financial consequences
- Regulatory barriers are the primary cause of high health care costs rather than inherent market failures
- Foreign drug approval systems are sufficiently reliable to substitute for FDA approval
- Political will exists to implement comprehensive deregulation despite entrenched interests