Yay for Us
Jul 27th, 2007 at 2:59 pm by Susie
Kevin Drum on the latest study of healthcare by country:
I suppose you’re all getting tired of hearing this, but the conclusion here is pretty much the same as it is every time you look at the U.S. vs. Europe: the differences are almost entirely about money. If you have a national healthcare system but you spend way less than the United States (as Great Britain does), you can provide good but not great service. If you spend modestly less than the United States (as France does) you can provide healthcare every bit as good as ours — and cover every single citizen in the bargain.
And what if you actually spend as much as the United States — but you have to put up with our ragtag private delivery system? Then you get healthcare about as good as France’s, except that it doesn’t cover everyone, it bankrupts large companies, and it goes away anytime you get laid off. And all for only about 40% more than anyone else in the world pays. Pretty good system, eh?
I was thinking….
there’s a lot of noise nationally about universal coverage. What if A. it happens - everyone is covered, and B. a huge chunk of people lose their houses because of bankruptcy.
It would probably happen the other way around, but still. I’m having fun imagining society in 50, one hundred years.