While state medical licensure laws ostensibly are intended to promote worthwhile goals, such as the maintenance of high standards in health care delivery, this Article argues that these laws in practice are detrimental to consumers. The Article takes the position that licensure contributes to high medical care costs and stifles competition, innovation and consumer autonomy. It concludes that delicensure would expand the range of health services available to consumers and reduce patient dependency, and that these developments would tend to make medical practice more satisfying to consumers and providers of health care services.I don't know that I cared much about these osteopaths until I heard you were going to drive them out of the State; but since I heard this I haven't been able to sleep . Now what I contend is that my body is my own, at least I have always so regarded it. If I do harm through my experimenting with it, it is I who suffer, not the State."Mark Twain

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医疗保健专业人员的执照：消费者的废除案例

虽然州医疗执照法表面上旨在促进有价值的目标，例如维持高标准的医疗保健服务，但本文认为这些法律在实践中对消费者有害。该文章的立场是，许可会导致高昂的医疗成本并扼杀竞争、创新和消费者自主权。它的结论是，解除执照将扩大消费者可获得的医疗服务范围并减少患者的依赖，并且这些发展将使医疗实践对消费者和医疗保健服务提供者更加满意。在我听说你要把他们赶出本州之前，我才知道我对这些整骨医生很在意；但是自从我听到这个我就睡不着了。现在我主张的是，我的身体是我自己的，至少我一直这么看重它。如果我通过实验造成伤害，受苦的是我，而不是国家。”马克吐温