"John Goodman’s Priceless is a must-read, and accessible, guide to understanding what is needed for real reform in healthcare. It cuts right to the heart of the dilemma in healthcare—the absence of a meaningful price system—to suggest why the Affordable Care Act failed to curb the cost and access problems we face and explains how even ‘priceless’ goods benefit from markets.”
—Bobbi Herzberg, distinguished senior fellow, F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
“In 2012, John Goodman’s Priceless became the most comprehensive, readable overview of American healthcare then available. In 2024, John replicates that achievement with a second edition. As a market-oriented conservative, but not an ideologue, he often deviates from conventional right-of-center wisdom and expresses gratitude for criticism delivered by thoughtful voices on the left. After numerous liberal reviewers in 2012 proclaimed Priceless to be a must-read, I asked a top-tier Clinton/Obama advisor whether she could recommend a mirror-image book—a healthcare survey by a liberal scholar which conservatives ought to consider a must-read. She said that, to her regret, no liberal had produced such a work. That’s still true, so in 2024, the second edition of Priceless stands as the single best introduction to American healthcare, regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with John’s philosophy.”
—Robert F. Graboyes, economic consultant and publisher of Bastiat’s Window, Substack
“John Goodman remains one of the clearest advocates for the value of markets, and not governments, in enabling better healthcare, and this book is a superb illustration of his talents. Although many Americans would be against an industry structure where they were mandated to purchase a product from a single monopoly, that’s how health plans of most of the world are set up, including Medicare and Medicaid in the US. Goodman again brilliantly lays out many of the fundamental problems with such an industry structure and demonstrates why citizens would be better served by an industry with voluntary payments to competing plans.”
—Tomas J. Philipson, Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy Studies Emeritus, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
“John Goodman, the ‘father of Health Savings Accounts,’ has once again delivered a splendid economic analysis of American healthcare, which now accounts for almost one-fifth of the entire American economy. In this second edition of Priceless, he once again focuses on why Americans are paying so much for healthcare, and why we are still plagued with deficiencies in the quality of our care, gaps in coverage, and even worsening options for persons with preexisting medical conditions. Especially enlightening is Goodman’s data-rich assessment of Obamacare, a massive Medicaid expansion combined with unprecedented federal regulatory control over private health insurance markets. While Obamacare did little to expand private insurance coverage, it accelerated cost increases for taxpayers and patients alike. Meanwhile, we have been trapped, Goodman argues, in a web of perverse incentives. America can break out of this trap only through patient power: giving patients control over their healthcare dollars and incentivizing medical professionals to play at the top of their game. Freedom works.”
—Robert Moffit, senior research fellow, Center for Health and Welfare Policy, The Heritage Foundation
“Health economist John Goodman’s Priceless tells us how to improve US healthcare by using prices. Prices work well in guiding our choices of food, haircuts, and cell phones. Goodman shows that the few areas in healthcare where consumers are faced with actual prices, such as LASIK, do well; prices have actually fallen and quality has improved. Why not, he asks, use that knowledge in the rest of the healthcare system? Read and learn.”
—David R. Henderson, research fellow, Stanford University’s Hoover Institution; and former senior economist for health policy with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers
