Cato: U.S. medicine leads world in innovation

Studies that compare America's health care sector to other countries typically omit any measure of innovation. A new study by Glen Whitman and Raymond Raad shows that America far and away leads the world in medical innovation. Since American innovations improve health world-wide, that is a virtue of the American system that is not reflected in comparative life-expectancy and mortality statistics. The authors argue that innovation should play a central role in the health care debate, and that the legislation before Congress could hinder the ability of creative individuals to innovate.