Overview

Most Americans assume that universal access to health care is a desirable and humane political goal. Not so, says distinguished legal scholar Richard Epstein. In this seminal work, he explodes the unspoken assumption that a government-administered, universal health-care system would be a boon to America. Basing his argument in our common law traditions that limit the collective responsibility for an individual's welfare, he provides a political and economic analysis which suggests that unregulated provision of health care will, in the long run, guarantee greater access to quality medical care for more people. He also authoritatively documents the ways in which government regulation has actually reduced the availability of organs for vitally needed transplants, and has interfered with a sensible policy toward euthanasia.

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9780738201894

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Reviews

A legal scholar's densely written argument that the good old days of laissez-faire were better. Epstein (Univ. of Chicago) claims that the welfare of the general population has been brought into mortal peril by the assumption that a proper health care system requires government controls. He traces the evolution of ideas of rights from the common-law concept of negative rights (freedom from the actions of others) to the more modern system of positive rights - to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and by extension to health, housing, education, and other desirable ends. The latter system, he complains, targets the state with duties of support, builds in extensive taxation, and forces the redistribution of wealth. In his view, the old common-law rules do a far better job of providing health care than the present complexity of government regulations with their many unintended and harmful consequences. Thus, he sharply criticizes Medicare and Medicaid, with their emphasis on expanding access and subsidizing services, and the Clinton administration's failed health care proposals for further broadening access. A defender of autonomy rights, property rights, and contractual freedom, Epstein next focuses on specific areas in which the state prevents individuals from doing what they want with their bodies and their lives. His defense of baby-selling and surrogate motherhood, his advocacy of a free and open market in organs for transplant, and his arguments for removing the ban on euthanasia and assisted suicide are sure to arouse protests from many quarters. His thesis that an unregulated health care system will ultimately provide better care and better access to greater numbers of people is, if not disingenuous, certainly disputable. (Kirkus Reviews)

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