1. All designs have unintended consequences. Including policy design.
The US tied healthcare to employment by accident. They restricted wage increases to stabilize the workforce during WWII. Unable to offer higher wages, corporations offered healthcare to compete. #designmtw
2. Health insurance's value increased greatly with penicillin (1945) and as the post WWI economy boomed, the private insurance industry with it:
1939, 8 million
1952, 92 million
3. Several attempts to nationalize healthcare since WWII have failed. One major force against it: the American Medical Association(!).
This gets political fast, but one theme is the desire of doctors to keep control over pricing. A public option would reduce their power.
4. All designers should habitually ask:
- how can this be used for undesirable purposes?
- How will it change the behavior of the people/orgs it will impact, for better and worse? Now and in future?
- How will powerful self-interested forces respond? (esp. in policy design)
5. Sources:
marketplace.org/2017/06/28/how…
axios.com/coronavirus-27…
realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/…
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