Comments on: Health Care Badly Run

By: Screen Rant

Screen Rant — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:02:55 +0000

Review: Sicko...

By Brian Rentschler Rating: 3 out of 5 Short version: Calling Michael Moore a documentary filmmaker is, at best, a stretch. However, his latest film is entertaining, enjoyable and yes, even a little balanced at times. Overall, it's a much better film ...

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:56:11 +0000

I wasn't pitching the French system, Steve, just pointing out that a) it was neither a single-payer nor a fully socialized system and b) it's better than ours.

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:05:50 +0000

Dave,

You seem to have missed this point of mine:

So is France’s health care system the solution to health care woes? Well, I guess if your goal is to slow the growth rate from ridiculous to merely unacceptable, then yeah it is the solution.

Sure, France's system is better, but it is merely on a different glide path towards disaster, IMO. Moving towards a "French System" would be an improvement, but not a permanent solution. If you are right about having only one bite, then that might not be the bite we want to take.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:19:26 +0000

FWIW the German system is more like a real single-payer system.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:17:57 +0000

The French and British systems are extremely different, Steve. BNH is a fully socialized system. The French system, like ours, is a public-private hybrid. Under the French system everyone is covered with a basic level of coverage, paid through taxes. Most people also have private coverage to cover what the government coverage doesn't, frequently paid by employers. Government's share of the healthcare dollar (or franc, in their case) is roughly 75% compared to roughly 60% here. Wait times in France are comparable to those here. Their morbidity and mortality statistics are notably better than ours. Some of that may be attributable to lifestyle or genetics but I know of no serious study that has attributed all of the difference to those factors. You know my position pretty well by this time, Steve: we need to reform both the supply and demand sides of the healthcare equation and insurance reform alone won't do that. I also think we're only going to get one bite at the healthcare reform apple for a generation or so and, considering the foreseeable financial picture, we'd best act prudently. Otherwise I envision adopting reforms in panic that won't solve the problems we have. BTW the median income of French physicians is roughly 1/3 the median income of U. S. physicians, significantly larger than the disparity in general. I only mention this to suggest that I think it's reasonable to believe that high salaries on the part of U. S. physicians are pushing up the cost of healthcare worldwide. While I'm on the subject does anyone have a source on the percentage of the highest U. S. income quintile that are physicians?

By: charles austin

charles austin — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:07:36 +0000

The perfect remains the enemy of the good. I fear that the complexity of the problem generally means that any solution, especially political popular solutions, will only make matters worse, road to Hell and all that.

By: ken

ken — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:33:15 +0000

The solution is to provide Medicare to all and allow the private for profit medical insurance industry adapt or shrivel up and die.

By: Fedodedo Blog2

Fedodedo Blog2 — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

an alumnus of one of the earliest batches of IIMA graduates, is in good health and apparently so are his executive colleagues at NASSCOM. But lets face it - bad news does … health insurance washington health insurance washington. Health Care Badly Run So let me see, the government says that there is a 10 billion euro deficit in health care, and that spending has to be reduced. The solution says the health care industry ismore people and better working conditions?