This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, March 17th, 2010.

I'm Keila Brown.

Most consumers don't have access to the latest medical innovations and models for delivery of health care.

Much of the blame can be laid squarely at the future. and models for delivery of health care.

Much of the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of government involvement in medicine.

That according to Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute,

he says Obamacare may further threaten America's position as the undisputed

leader in innovations that help people live longer, healthier lives.

The most important kind of health care reform is innovation, finding ways to do things better than we

did before at a lower cost that makes health care better and more affordable for more and

more people.

Now most people think of medical innovations in terms of

advances in basic medical sciences or advances in doctor's ability to

diagnose illness with say MRIs and CT scanners or doctor's ability to treat illnesses with things like

ACE inhibitors or statens or other drugs and interventions that save lives.

And the United States does lead the world in these types of medical innovations.

In fact, we often produce more of these types of innovations than any other country or all their countries combined.

But there are other types of innovation in health care

that are just as important as medical innovation.

These are innovative ways of designing health insurance policies,

innovative ways of delivering medical care that can

make it safer, that can make it more convenient, that can lower the cost of medical care.

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