I was thinking about what I said briefly the other day regarding the benefits of foreign competition in the health care (specifically, health insurance) industry. I thought maybe someone else had discussed this idea in more detail, so I did some quick web searches. The best I found was this:
... there is limited foreign competition to replace and offer alternatives to an inefficient industry. Health care, especially in- patient and primary health care is almost inherently a domestic industry. Japan, India, or China cannot easily begin a strategy of exporting health care to America and provide a competitive hammer to the industry. But this trend can be hard to predict. If a consultant would have advised the CEOs of the Big 3 in 1960 that they would be brought to their knees by Japanese companies exporting two ton cars from Japan across the Pacific Ocean, he would have been laughed out of the board room. In the high technology world of internet, ipods, blackberrys, and instant data transmission, it is not inconceivable that a cheaper, more efficient health care model could be imported into the US and provide consumers with an alternative. If this does happen, you can be sure the first persons to cry foul will be the doctors, US health care companies, and their lobbyists who, predictably, will complain about low quality, “non-approved” health care, cheaper replacements, job losses, un-American competition, etc. – the mantra that car companies have moaned about for years.
Is it possible that some day we will allow foreign competition in this area? My own experience with private health insurance in Switzerland was very good, so I would welcome it.
To be honest, I'm not even sure what the law is in this regard. I am assuming foreign companies cannot offer health insurance in the United States, based on various state/federal regulations. But the situation may be more complicated than that.
