NYT Says Doctors May Not Talk About Expensive Treatments, Doesn't Talk About Patent Monopolies That Make Them Expensive

Yet again the NYT has given us a piece talking about trade-offs between the cost and quality of health care. The piece reports that some doctors may not discuss certain treatments with patients because they consider these treatments too expensive. Unfortunately, the piece never discussed the role of patent monopolies in making these treatments expensive.

The point is simple but incredibly important. In some cases, for example open-heart surgery, a medical procedure may genuinely involve a sub...