Which Countries Have Single-Payer Health Systems?

[hunter]

64. Where did I say Obamacare was socialism?

Nations have accomplished universal health care in a variety of ways. That's what I said.

Yet for the unemployed and unemployable, and for those who are stricken with budget-busting catastrophic illnesses or accidents, there are elements of socialism in all these plans. So what?

The stink of "we can't do that here" is very strong in this article. Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.

Why can't we have a single payer here? It seems to work well in Canada, which is a nation very similar to our own.

I must make a confession, as others have above: I'm not a fan of NPR. They are bought and beholden to big money interests, much as U.S. politicians are. They can't afford to alienate their big donors, which is the same fix many politicians are in when it comes to campaign finances.

My favorite part was this:

Are Single-Payer Plans Less Expensive Than Other Health Coverage Systems?

Not necessarily. True, eliminating the profits and duplicative administrative costs associated with hundreds of different private insurance plans would reduce spending, perhaps as much as 10 percent of the nation's $3 trillion annual health care bill, says Anderson. But, he notes, once those savings are achieved, there wouldn't be further reductions afterward.

Well wait a minute, you just said Canada and Taiwan are the only nations with true single payer systems... Are they less expensive?

Here's a chart from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita

It took me about 12 seconds to find that data. Canada looks like it's doing pretty good to me.

Worse, I followed the link provided to expert Uwe E. Reinhardt, and first thing you see is: Uwe E. Reinhardt is an economics professor at Princeton. He has some financial interests in the health care field.

Exploring further, He is currently a director of Boston Scientific, a medical device company, and a trustee for the Hambrecht & Quist Life Sciences Fund and Health Care Fund, which are closed-end mutual funds.

Dear God, is there anyone who doesn't have a finger in this pie?