We have undeniable health care problems here in the United States. However, uprooting the system, causing significant upheaval and changing to a single-payer model is clearly not the answer. It’s simply switching one set of problems for another set that may be even worse. David Hogberg enlightens us:
While Sweden is a first world country, its health care system – at least in regards to access – is closer to the third world. Because the health care system is heavily-funded and operated by the government, the system is plagued with waiting lists for surgery. Those waiting lists increase patients’ anxiety, pain and risk of death.Sweden’s health care system offers two lessons for the policymakers of the United States. The first is that a single-payer system is not the answer to the problems faced as Americans. Sweden’s system does not hold down costs and results in rationing of care. The second lesson is that market-oriented reforms must permit the market to work. Specifically, government should not protect health care providers that fail to provide patients with a quality service from going out of business.
When the United States chooses to reform its health care system, reform should lead to improvement. Reforming along the lines of Sweden would only make our system worse.
(via Catron)
{ 16 comments }
In the USA, if you have a hernia that is not incarcerated and you don’t have insurance and don’t have $12,000 to fix it, it won’t get fixed. In Sweden, it will. In the USA, if that hernia becomes incarcerated and needs emergent correction, you can go to the ER and have it fixed, then have liens placed against your personal assets if you don’t pay your bills, $12,000. In Sweden, when your hernia incarcerates, you go to the ER, and it gets fixed. Only there, hernias don’t incarcerate beacuse patients have them fixed electively.
Give the facts, not the spin.
I’m just lurking by today…thanks for the informative reading…
Explain how single payer could possibly make my healthcare experience any better. I tore my meniscus on Thursday, saw a Orthopedic surgeon and had an MRI on Friday and he repaired a buckethandle tear on the following Tuesday. Less than a week I had accomplished what it takes over a year in a single payor nation. I am now over a year out and my knee feels incredible. If I was in a single payer country I might. MIGHT, have seen an orthopedic surgeon by now and would probably be on a waiting list, but at that point it wouldn’t be repairable. We have the best healthcare system in the world and there is nowhere I would rather be with me or my family. I hear lots of hypothetical sob stories, but tell me how it will improve my healthcare right now. Pure and simple it won’t.
I’ve been poor and without health insurance, and have known many others in that boat. There are teaching hospitals that provide any kind of care on a sliding-scale fee — they determine what you can pay according to your income and obligations.
There are many clinics and doctors in private practice across America who do the same thing. And not only doctors but also dentists and eye care providers.
In addition to which there are service organizations that will pay for medical, eye and dental care for the very low income.
It takes some effort to get these services, but people aren’t at all made to feel like unworthy charity cases. Today, a lot of people showing up in hospital emergency rooms really without an emergency but needing only primary care do so because they can; they don’t want to be bothered making an appointment at a free clinic.
I’m well able to afford health insurance now, but the medical care I receive, which is excellent, is not better than when I was poor. I got excellent, timely care then, as well.
To the person with the meniscus tear: you had insurance at the time, right? If you did not, I suspect that your experience would hve been a bit different.
“system is plagued with waiting lists for surgery. Those waiting lists increase patients’ anxiety, pain and ***risk of death***.”
Not true.
The reality is the complete opposite.
When Dr.s go on strike the death rate drops so low that the “Morticians are forced to help negotiate a settlement.”
http://tinyurl.com/24pso9
There’s always cosmetics.
OB’s Are Dropping Babies For Botox
http://tinyurl.com/yrq4ek
Medicine is not getting safer in this country which is the only reason I sit on the fence re: National Healthcare.
What ever happened to the healing arts?
WOW, I want to knwo who and where this os is. I had really good ins. and also tore my miniscus. I CALLED FOR AN APPOINTMENT< WAITED DAYS< SAW THE Os who ordered an MRI for 2 weeks later, had the MRI and returned to OS two weeks following that and had surgery 2 weeks after that. All in all atleast 7 weeks from inuury to surgery. Then a few months later I had a knee replacement becaus ethe damage was so great so it was not because it wasn't a bad injury. I know of no OS who works as fast as what was described above.
ALSO, if I had not had ins. I would be in a wheel chair right now so dont make this sound like something other than what it is.
I’ve lived in Sweden and now I live in Denmark. While in Sweden you pay everytime you go to the doc, in Denmark you don’t. I also lived 26 years of my life in a 3rd world country. There are flaws in all the health systems of all the places I’ve lived in, but what I have to say about Sweden and Denmark is that medical care is the same for everyone. This is a wonderful concept, if it actually worked. Instead of being the same “good quality” for everyone, it is the same “crap” for everyone…
While some of my disregard for the “nordic” health system is based on the humongous difference in medical practice between the new world and the old world; I think there is much to learn in terms of “what not to do” from countries like Sweden and Denmark.
Again speaking in hypotheticals, How would single payor make my experience better right now? It won’t and can’t. You can’t pass a single payor system and not make matters worse for those of us that have insurance right now. Its impossible. Like I said there is nowhere I would rather be if I was injured.
Anon 9:02 exactly what is your complaint 7 weeks from injury to surgery is a whole lot better than 6 months to even see an ORS in the first place. You are talking a couple of year process minimum in a single payor nation to see your PCP, get an MRI, referal to a ORS, Knee Scope, Failed Knee Scope ending up with a Total Knee Arthroplasty. Some surgeons do work that fast, all it took was a call from my PCP.
If some kind of single payor goes through I can’t wait to either see someone like Donovan McNabb waiting a year to have his ACL repaired while he is on a list behing Wally from the YMCA who tore his. Or him having his surgery done early, the whole city rejoices and then they watch the lawsuits fly as he moves ahead of others on the list.
Anon…11:43
In your world where only YOU matter, obviously nothing anyone does could make what YOU have better. How does it feel to be so self-important? Never mind, you just go on living in a vacumn of me, me, and me.. while the rest of worry about the 40 plus million americans with no ins.
Lawsuits fly? Who are they going to sue? The govt??? You are a funny one!
Let me see if I understand that last. It’s ok if the majority of people (those currently insured) receive diminshed care, so long as a minority (those unisured)receive “better care”. The solution proposed is to create a government bureacracy that will be responsible for allocating medical care, with the thought that this will increase cost-effectiveness and “fairness”. Is that a fair summary?
Not to be a cynic, but what stops you from obtaining health care now? And how would you describe “better care”?
Why should 250 million receive less care to appease the debateable 40 million without?
I don’t worry about those without as Margret said they have many options. I have better things to worry about.
The people that pay the bills in this country right now will not tolerate excessive waiting.
As to the last statement. This is what is funny, they will sue who they always do, the physician and hospital for doing the surgery instead of theirs.
Hack to hack to hack. It’s like Tinkers to Evers to Chance. Hogberg to Catron to Pho. And if you have an appreciation for those sorts of things then watching this kind of BS spin is like watching a well-turned double play.
Well I do have healthcare now, that I pay out of pocket 1,140.00 per month for. AND YES, it is BETTER for those who have alot of health coverage to not have as much, if it would mean that everyone would have some type of coverage.
Im sorry you are so selfish!! But just because you are, dont try to find pseudo faults with me just because Im not! There still are people who are not totally full of self-importance.
So you’re calling the rest of the world selfish because we won’t pay for you. I’m sure the homeless feel I’m selfish too, because I won’t give them my home, my wallet, and my car. Simple envy is a rotten way to make policy. You don’t have the right to take money out of my pocket to pay your bills, regardless of what you might believe. You are an adult. Be responsible for yourself, it’s what the rest of us do.
Life is hard: face it, and fight, instead of crying for help. Or, in simpler terms, Ranger up.
I don’t agree.
I live in Sweden, and I had a major sports injury. Like T.B.
It got fixed by some skillful professionals. For about 120$ for the Surgery and 100$ for the Pre and Post medicine needed.
It would have been a career ending thing. I did and do not have 4625$ to spend on the surgery I needed.
This was not through insurance, but through paying tax.
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