Benefits and barriers to consumer choice

Any successful health care reform effort must increase the market power of individual consumers. If consumers act in the medical marketplace as they do in other segments of the economy they will make sensible decisions about the allocation of resources (rationing) without the intrusion of third parties and will select providers and medical interventions that meet their needs. This article asserts the importance of consumer influence, focuses on the barriers that prevent consumers from exerting the same muscle in health care that they manifest in other areas of the economy, and suggests ways to remove these barriers.