June 10, 2010 10:27AM 

# You Say You Want Comparative-Effectiveness Research? 

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

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Over at *CongressDaily*, Julie Rovner has [a great piece on the difficulties involved in generating and using comparative-effectiveness research](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/hca_20100609_8801.php?) (read: evidence that can improve the quality and reduce the cost of medical care). Rovner cites [a recent *New England Journal of Medicine* article](http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMp1001201v1.pdf) about the obstacles to conducting CER, and [a recent article from *Health Affairs*](http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.2009.0296v1.pdf) that finds consumers tend to trust their doctor’s judgment more than evidence-based treatment guidelines.

In a paper titled, “[A Better Way to Generate and Use Comparative-Effectiveness Research](https://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa632.pdf),” I explain how a string of government interventions — from [state licensing of medical professionals](https://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-621.pdf) and health insurance, to [the tax preference for job-based health insurance](https://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-14.pdf), to [Medicare](http://store.cato.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&pid=1441322) and [Medicaid](https://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-13.pdf) — have reduced both patients’ demand for evidence about which medical interventions work best, as well as the market’s ability to supply that evidence. In that paper, I predict that efforts like the CER funding in the “[stimulus](https://www.cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf)” bill and ObamaCare’s “[Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute](https://www.cato.org/pubs/bp/bp117.pdf)” will fail, just as *all* such government efforts have failed in the past.

If you want to generate evidence about which medical interventions work best, and have people use that evidence, then you need to [liberalize the U.S. health care sector](https://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa650.pdf).

[https://​www​.cato​.org/​p​u​b​s​/​p​a​s​/​p​a​6​5​0.pdf](https://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa650.pdf)

##### Related Tags 

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

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