[lit-ideas] Re: Guess where the USA ranks in terms of health care

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 6:18 AM, Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> John: With due respect, generalizing from Brazil is a mug's move. Why not
> look at what happens in Scandanavia or, where I live, in Japan. Yes, it may
> take an hour or two to see a doctor if you haven't made an appointment in
> advance; but the same was true in the USA when my parents went for treatment
> at their HMOs.
>

Didn't intend to be condescending. Should, however, have been clearer.
Brazil is a case like China or India, where the rich and middle class are
minorities piled on top of an impoverished population of very poor people.
Predictably the poor will overwhelm any healthcare system to which they have
access, and the middle and upper classes will resist funding improvements.
There are those who argue that the USA is moving in a similar direction; but
we are not quite there yet, making comparisons with Scandinavia, other parts
of Europe or Japan more to the point.
John

-- 
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/

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