Free health care and government failure

A hat tip to my colleague Tom Allen for spotting this great example in a recent Times article of the untintended consequences of providing the bulk of NHS care free at the point of need. Tom writes:

There was also an excellent article in the Times about the government of providing health care at zero price.

“20% of visits to GPs are for coughs and common colds. This costs the NHS £2bn a year, without making any difference to people’s health.The NHS has become a victim of demand-led culture…. £10 per visit should be enough to deter people with sniffles.”

Here is the rest of the article: Of course demand for GPs is too high — a visit costs zero