The Medical Freedom Channel

“In the United States, the authority to regulate medical professionals lies with the states. To practice within a state, clinicians must obtain a license from that state’s government. … One view is that state licensing of medical professionals assures quality. In contrast, I argue that licensure not only fails to protect consumers from incompetent physicians, but (by raising barriers to entry) makes healthcare more expensive and less accessible. … Consumers would benefit were states to eliminate professional licensing in medicine and leave education, credentialing, and scope-of-practice decisions entirely to the private sector and the courts.” [editor’s note: Again, not exactly an “archival” piece, but it isn’t current, either, and it expresses well one of our major contentions about healthcare reform — the world’s most exclusive trade-union is not part of the solution - SAT] (posted 10/12/08, originally written 09/17/08)