January 6, 2010 12:06PM 

# ObamaCare Threatens Innovation 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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That’s the conclusion of economist Glen Whitman and physician Raymond Raad, who [write](http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/06/health-care-reform-congress-politics-opinions-contributors-whitman-raad.html) in *Forbes*:

> Unfortunately, the health care bills moving through Congress could curtail medical innovation. **Imposing price controls on drugs and treatments–or indirectly forcing their prices down by means of a “[public option](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10382)” or expanded [public](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4049) [insurance](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8697)** **programs–would reduce the incentive for innovators to develop new treatments.**
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> Proposed reforms could also retard business model innovation–an area where innovation is weak. Congress has already used its control of Medicare to limit the growth of [specialty hospitals](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=1881). A nationally [mandated insurance package](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10576) would severely curtail innovation in payment methods and [insurance products](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9986), which have the potential to improve the [coordination and delivery of health care services](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9878).
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> The health care debate should address more than just covering the uninsured and controlling costs. When the U.S. generates medical innovations, the whole world benefits. That is a virtue of the American system that is not reflected in [comparative life expectancy and mortality statistics](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9236).

The op-ed is based on the authors’ Cato Institute policy analysis, “[Bending the Productivity Curve: Why America Leads the World in Medical Innovation](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10979).”

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) 

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