Healthcare in a Free Society is Not an Insurmountable Problem

User u/Wolf96312 asked the question at r/AskLibertarians, “How would healthcare work?” about 7 months ago.  After someone else’s answer, I jumped in and started my own short thread with u/Wolf96312. Enjoy.


Panthera_Panthera: I don’t understand, do private hospitals not exist where you’re from?

Wolf96312: What about for people who can’t pay for treatment?

Skyler: Churches, charities, mutual aid associations.

Plus getting rid of stuff that Hoppe talks about here will go a long way to lowering price and increasing supply: https://mises.org/library/four-step-healthcare-solution

Wolf96312: What if that isn’t enough? The idea that simply private groups will provide enough for the poor seems pretty optimistic to me.

Skyler: Why is anybody responsible for the healthcare of other people?

Wolf96312: Because they won’t survive without it.

Skyler: Why is anybody responsible for the survival of other people?

Wolf96312: Let’s say the only way someone gets a life-saving medical procedure is through tax dollars, say through the Medicaid program. Would you support it?

Skyler: That would entail hindsight bias. In the current context, yes save their life, but if we were in a free society where these things didn’t exist then what do you do? Go to those places I already listed including other forms of fundraising.

Wolf96312: But the question remains: if the only way to save a life through medical care was tax dollars, would you do it? I know it sounds like I’m attacking you personally, but this is a reality the libertarian movement has to face.

Skyler: Sure, and then compensate the property owners you stole from to save the life.

Wolf96312: That’s a good idea. What about this: set up an emergency fund with tax dollars, and if there are no emergencies, send back the money at say, the end of the year. And if there are emergencies, then the victim shall pay back the taxpayer, as they are indebted to them. Might be stupid, but it just popped into my head.

Skyler: Or make it a voluntary fund and call it insurance. XD.


I think the solutions presented by Hoppe are the most likely to succeed, and would be the default in a truly free society. Other, similar solutions are presented by Robert Murphy here, and John Goodman here.

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Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.