Free Market Dentist Busted in NYC

Last week, there was a news story about an unlicensed dentist seriously injuring a patient. The unlicensed dentist was offering very cheap rates. I have no idea what the quality of his work was; it was probably average or below-average.

An elderly patient got sick and became unconscious during treatment. The dentist panicked and put the patient outside on his doorstep and called 911. This led to the dentist's arrest. If there was a true agorist doctor he could have called for help, his problem could have been avoided.

The free market dentist was loudly decried as a criminal. Personally, I think he was merely acting in the free market. The Strawman Fallacy was clearly being used against the dentist. He had provided cheap dental care many people. The quality must have been decent, because he had regular patients. He ran into one complication, and all his other good work was ignored and he's now in jail for "practicing medicine without a license", which isn't a crime in a truly free market.

That's one point that's always ignored in the media. Government licensing requirements for doctors restrict supply and drive up prices. Licensing requirements could be just as easily provided by insurance associations. Why can't a health insurance company train and certify its own doctors? If there's a shortage of doctors, then the insurance company should be allowed to train more doctors.