Join the Department of Economics via Zoom for the T. Norman Van Cott Lecture in Political Economy and Liberty.
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2020
Time: 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Registration: https://forms.gle/2Qq9Y7BPfPtQCEqr8.
The Power and Beauty of a Medical Free Market: The Surgery Center of Oklahoma Story
Presented by: G. Keith Smith, M.D., Surgery Center of Oklahoma
The Surgery Center of Oklahoma, a physician-owned, outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City posted bundled, online pricing twelve years ago. A market was immediately created by this move as traditional price gougers had to match or near-match the posted pricing in order to retain business. This price-posting also more clearly revealed the cartel-like arrangement between large insurance carriers and hospital systems, as both benefit from the discounts applied to a large initial price. Medical free markets and price transparency have become a national movement, championed by the Free Market Medical Association among others. Beginning in January, 2021, fines will be imposed on hospitals failing to post their prices, an unbelievable development and one demonstrating the injustice-destroying power and beauty of the free market.
There will be a Q& A after the presentation. Please submit your questions via the chat feature.
Dr. G. Keith Smith is a board-certified anesthesiologist in private practice since 1990. In 1997 he co-founded The Surgery Center of Oklahoma and in 2009 launched a website displaying all-inclusive pricing for various surgical procedures. Canadians, beneficiaries of self-funded insurance plans and cost sharing ministries and uninsured individuals have spent millions of dollars on other things, thanks to this free market approach to medical service delivery.
He has made appearances on the Lew Rockwell Show, the Bob Murphy Show, EconTalk with Russ Roberts, the John Stossel Show, CNBC, Huffington Post, The O’Reilly Factor, Capital Account, The Ron Paul Channel, NBC Nightly News, CBS News and has been featured by Reason Magazine’s TV division. The New York Times, Time Magazine, ABC news, Forbes and many others have written articles featuring Dr. Smith’s revolutionary approach to the pricing of health care and uncompromising free market principles.