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Single-payer is inappropriate for the USA. Many other countries have made non-single-payer systems work well. Otherwise, a refreshing article. Our current syst
by pbreit 13y ago
Single-payer is inappropriate for the USA. Many other countries have made non-single-payer systems work well. Otherwise, a refreshing article.
Our current system is the most free-market in the developed world and near the bottom in most categories (most expensive with worst outcomes).
- aaronbrethorst 13y ago> Single-payer is inappropriate for the USA. Citation needed.
- pbreit 13y agoCitation for an opinion? But see above.
- sirkneeland 13y agoWell the most efficiently functioning welfare states are ones that serve small and homogeneous populations. The United States is neither small nor homogeneous (and it is incredibly geographically dispersed for extra kicks). The largest country in Europe (Germany) has a population that is less than 1/3 the that of the United States, and more homogeneous than every US state (let alone all of them combined) with the possible exception of Vermont. And I bet even within Europe you would find the best and most efficient healthcare, education and other public services come from the smaller countries. Finland and Norway likely to better than Germany and France. Given how many of us deal with challenges of "scaling up" tech, processes and organizations as part of our jobs, I'm surprised more people don't really seem to consider the practical limitations of scale for projects of government.
- bryanlarsen 13y agoCanada is larger, more geographically dispersed and less homogeneous than the United States, and yet manages to have a functioning single-payer medical system.
- pbreit 13y agoLarger by land mass, perhaps, but much smaller by most other measures. And substantially more homogenous (not sure how you're getting a different impression). "Functioning" is maybe a decent description and a pretty low target.
- wmoxam 13y ago> And substantially more homogenous (not sure how you're getting a different impression) Not sure what you define as 'homogenous' but over 20% of Canada's population is foreign born, and less than 57% are english speaking by mother tongue.
- pbreit 13y agoI would not consider 80% white Western European to be as diverse as the US. I don't think the Canadian French thing contributes a whole lot to diversity.
- bradleyboy 13y agoImportant to note that while Canada is geographically large, it's population is far from dispersed. Half the population lives in a ~700mi corridor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City%E2%80%93Windsor_Corridor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City%E2%80%93Windsor_Cor...
- mfringel 13y agoNot sure what you mean by one state being more or less homogeneous than another. The entities who would be receiving healthcare are 100% human, by population, regardless of state. Are you working from a different definition of homogeneous?
- cgopalan 13y ago> Single-payer is inappropriate for the USA. Care to elaborate?
- pbreit 13y agoSure. Pretty much everything in the USA should be free-er and more market-based than other countries because that is one of, if not THE, bedrock founding basis of this country and what has led it to become the worlds only super-power. Also, we should strive to have the best system and I don't think that's possible with single payer (eg Canada/uk vs France/Switzerland/Singapore/japan).
- twright0 13y agoBut surely if we can observe that a "free-er and more market-based" approach is working less well than the approaches taken by other countries, we should change our approach? Our dubious superpower status will not be much comfort to those dying from treatable diseases they cannot afford to treat.
- drhayes9 13y agoSuperpower in what sense? I mean, I think I know what sense you mean, but there are some glaring socioeconomic inconsistencies with the label "superpower": * We have the highest first-day infant mortality in the industrial world: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-has-highest-first-day-infant-mortality-out-of-industrialized-world-group-reports/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-has-highest-first-day-infant-... * The US has a very high poverty rate compared to other industrialized nations: http://depts.washington.edu/wcpc/povertyintheus http://depts.washington.edu/wcpc/povertyintheus * The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarcerati...
- pbreit 13y agohttp://lmgtfy.com/?q=Superpower http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Superpower None of your points address that the US is indeed the worlds only superpower (as is commonly and widely understood).
- parfe 13y agoThe USA already has single payer systems for the poor and the elderly.