Health care professionals sell medical licensing to Americans as a vital public health safeguard. But a new report from the Cato Institute argues that medical licensing not only fails to protect consumers from incompetent physicians; raising barriers to entry makes health care more expensive and less accessible.

Consumers would benefit if states eliminated professional licensing in medicine, leaving education, credentialing, and scope-of-practice decisions entirely to the private sector and the courts. Without legislatively-mandated requirements or restrictions, hospitals and other providers could better adjust their workforces when demand shifts or when opportunities arise to reduce costs -- either by making care more convenient or by saving patients money -- while maintaining quality.

The report is written by Shirley Svorny of California State University.