I call your attention to Ezra Klein’s column in the Washington Post this morning.In it he cites data that has been out there for a long time but Ezra puts some perspective on it that never occurred to me before.Examining the Kaiser Family Foundation brief, “Health Care Spending in the United States and Selected OECD Countries” he points out, “Our government spends more [as a percentage of GDP] on
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Posts filed under Single-Payer Systems
The "Frontline" Report on International Health Care, "Sick Around the World," is Worth an Hour of Your Time
Last night the PBS program, "Frontline" gave us an hour long tour of the health care systems in Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland and asked what can we Americans learn from them.When I heard about the program, I was dubious that an hour long report covering five different systems could possibly be helpful. But this hour long tour de force accomplished a great deal and I came
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When It Comes To Drug Prices the Europeans Are Better Health Care Capitalists Than We Are!
Sometimes I think the government-run European health care systems do a better job of using market tools to control their drug prices than we do in the U.S. market.For example, some government-run systems in Europe, France for example, are not afraid to take a drug off their official formulary if they don't get a competitive price.In January, the Democratic House passed a bill requiring Medicare
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Aetna to Provide Managed Care Services to the British National Health Service--Say What?
Aetna has been approved by the British National Health Service (NHS) as one of the suppliers who can provide local Primary Care Trust (PCT) managers "a wide range of support, ranging from specific tasks such as designing medical management programs, also known as demand management, to comprehensive contracting and procurement of services."Where's Michael Moore? He needs to do an addendum to "
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The Best 39 Minutes You Can Spend Understanding the Various National Health Systems
NPR's "Fresh Air" broadcast a 39-minute interview with Jonathan Oberlander, a political scientist with expertise in health care politics and policy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Studying other systems is important as we in America look to reform our health care system. Unfortunately, we hear many things out of context and some outright myths.Listening to Professor Oberlander
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"Sicko" Revenue Wanes at the Box Office--Why Didn't "Sicko" Resonate?
The Michael Moore movie about the U.S. health care system's problems, "Sicko," had incredible press before its debut. Moore appeared on the likes of Larry King, Leno, and Letterman, and about everywhere else in the days before its premier to hype his newest critical documentary.Last week when the movie grossed only $4.5 million (putting it in 9th place) supporters pointed out that it only opened
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The Market Has a Place in Health Care But It Also Has Its Limits
Every leading health care proposal today includes a place for the market. Some believe government should run it all and then there are those who believe the real solution lies in just letting an unfettered market get it all done.Health care is not like buying a set of tires. We lose our market-driven objectivity pretty quickly when we are faced with scary medical decisions for ourselves or for
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"Mid-Atlantic Convergence"--The European Government-Run Health Care Systems Are Coming Our Way!
One of the themes I have often heard in international meetings on the topic of health insurance is the term, "Mid-Atlantic Convergence."That is, our system may be gravitating to look more like those in Europe and theirs maybe moving more toward ours.One of the people I often see at these meetings is Bill Boyles, publisher of Health Market Survey and Consumer-Driven Care.Today, I have asked Bill
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The Cost to Administer Medicare Versus the Cost to Administer Private Health Plans--The Difference Isn't Anything Close to 25%
Those that favor a single-payer government-run health care system have been reenergized by the Michael Moore movie, "Sicko."One of their contentions I keep hearing is that we could save 25% by getting rid of private health insurance plans and creating one big government-run plan. They point to Medicare's expense factor of 2.9% as evidence.The private health insurance plans have much higher
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A Canadian-Style Health Care System--How Would We Get From Here to There?
The movie "Sicko" inevitably gets us talking about making over America's health care system into one that would resemble the single-payer government-run systems like those in Canada, Britain, France--or now even Cuba!I find the proposal a simplistic one.Having spent so much time in Europe and Canada working with health care policymakers and major stakeholders there, let me first tell you I have a
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A Review of the Movie "Sicko"--Michael Moore Blew It!
Michael Moore's new movie, "Sicko," was supposed to be this great argument for a "single payer" government-run health care system.It turned out to be exactly the opposite because Moore overplayed his hand and did his argument more damage than good.The first half of the movie would have had anyone mad at the system--and for good reasons. It's real easy to find lots of examples of market stupidity
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