[ExI] How to get a healthy country

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 18/10/2007, Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:

>  The fact that there are five times as many MRI machines in the US as
> Canada suggests that there is more profit to be made in MRI's. If it
> actually turned out that diverting funds from other areas to MRI
> machines improved health outcomes then why wouldn't bureaucrats in
> Canada or anywhere else do this?
>
>
>  Budget constraints?  Socialized care means that politicians decide what are
> reasonable treatment levels and facilities.  I am not at all sure this is
> better than private industry of various medical kinds doing the same.  At
> least the private system is likely to have a bit more competition.

The competition will be competition to make as much profit as
possible. What works to bring about cheaper and better consumer goods
will not necessarily work for health care, that's the problem. The US
spends a greater proportion of GDP on health care than most developed
countries but has worse overall health outcomes than most developed
countries. There may be multiple reasons for this but the net
conclusion has to be, someone must be profiting at the expense of the
average US health consumer.

>  Bottom line for me personally is where I can get the best care as this
> boomer body of mine ages.   So far I don't believe that is anywhere else
> that has socialized medicine.    That being the case I don't see why I would
> push for it here.

If cost is no object to you then there isn't anything you can get
anywhere else in the world that you won't get in the US. But in most
other developed countries, you can get a similar level of care at no
cost or minimal cost. In many of these countries there is a parallel
private health care system for those that prefer it. In Australia, the
advantage of the private system is that there are shorter waiting
lists for elective surgery, and you have a greater choice of hospital
and doctor. The disadvantage is that the largest centres where the
most costly and complex procedures are performed are all public
anyway.



-- 
Stathis Papaioannou