Other countries do it; so can we
Modern Healthcare
November 12, 2007
Despite having good doctors and good hospitals, U.S. healthcare outcomes do not compare very favorably with those of other industrialized nations.
A national single-payer plan—paid for with our tax dollars—would be as “socialized” as Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Transportation Department. The proper role of “our” government is to take care of needs that “we the people” cannot do as individuals. We have tried to manage healthcare through a market-based system, and we have failed. The market strategy has made billions for insurers but over 47 million Americans remain uninsured, and 18,000 people ages 18-64 die each year in the U.S. because of a lack of access to care. That’s six times as many people as died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
I have family members in Canada—various ages and income levels. They have been receiving timely, innovative and excellent care—all prepaid by their own tax dollars. One hears that Canadians have to wait for nonurgent surgeries, but they do eventually get that surgery. Is that rationing? In the U.S., we see the ultimate form of rationing—denial of care.
Canada and other free-market democracies have done the math and they have opted for a single payer system. As the recent Nobel winners in economics have shown—sometimes government must do what markets cannot. Saving lives and saving tax dollars may fall into that category.
Harriette Seiler
Louisville, Ky.