[lit-ideas] Re: Guess where the USA ranks in terms of health care
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:47:03 +0900
On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:17 AM, Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>
> Universal Health Care (such as exists in Brazil) yields this situation:
> Doctors are paid the same amount whether they see 5 or 25 patients a day.
> Patients who present to doctors with symptoms requiring a certain treatment
> will be told, "Yes we can do this, if you wait four months. On the other
> hand, if you pay me ___, I'll be able to do the procedure next week."
>
Eric,
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. There is also, as there is in the USA, a thriving private sector from
which people in need of special procedures can obtain whatever treatment is
required provided that they can pay for it.
In addition, many common but expensive procedures are fully covered by the
National Health Insurance scheme. In my case, an MRI to check if the severe
headaches I experienced after my father's funeral were due to a brain tumor
like the ones that killed two of my uncles wound up costing me ¥3,000 (about
$30).
And while many complain about this or that aspect of the Japanese system and
there is real concern about its finances in a country with a rapidly aging
population, there is no denying the results--the longest average life spans
in the world.
Cheers,
John
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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