Arnold compares David Cutler who has some interesting ideas on how to make health care better with Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn who had some interesting ideas for making hotels better:
Wilson did not call for a regulatory agency to ensure that all motels were pleasant for families. He did not seek legislation requiring that children sleep free in motels. Instead, he created Holiday Inn, the first national motel chain.
What our health care system needs is for people like Cutler to bring their ideas for change, such as the hypothesis that doctor performance can be improved though compensation based on quality, to entrepreneurs like Wilson, instead of turning to politicians. Entrepreneurs know that they have to implement through consent, not through brute force legislation. They know that they must prove their ideas in the marketplace.
The regulatory system has made it difficult for entrepreneurs to thrive in the provision of health care to the patient. Fixing that would seem to be a step in the right direction for improving health care.
