With a long and successful career in healthcare I have seen the good and bad sides of how it is applied. Working in 38 countries that have for-profit, private and single payer healthcare systems I can safely say that the US healthcare system suffers from a serious disease. It is the most expensive system in the world and ranks 39th in quality of care. Why are we paying so much and getting so little? Adding insult to injury, many of the discoveries and advances we develop here are less expensive overseas. Medical expenses are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the US and there is no reason for that.
Living in New Zealand I had a personal experience in national healthcare system when being patched up after a motorcycle accident the only question they asked as whether I needed a taxi to take me home! Why can’t America, the most innovative country in the world, can’t innovate a healthcare system that works for everyone?
The best example of a single payer system we have here is the Veterans Administration, where their size empowers them to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers. Medicare, while technically a single payer system, is prohibited from negotiating drug prices. I would add that drug development is often subsidized if not paid outright for, by taxpayer dollars via government grants. This has to change.
There is a group here in Oregon called Healthcare For All Oregon (link) that is working to change how healthcare id delivered here in Oregon. I encourage you to reach out to them.
0 Comments