[ExI] Yet another health care debate

[Lee Corbin]

Fred writes

> It appears that periodically a health care debate arises on this list.
> And I am always amazed as normally rational people seem to
> take leave of their more advanced analytical tools.  Before wasting
> time and bandwidth how about performing some basic analysis.

That sounds like sound advice.

> For each health care system under consideration please do the following:

Now one thing that simply amazes me is the tremendous interest
evinced on this list by non-U.S. citizens that the U.S. should
adopt socialized medicine for the U.S., i.e., provide health benefits
without charge. 

(Quite on the other hand, it's very EASY to understand why non-U.S.
citizens would be keenly interested in the financial laws and policies
of the United States, since there are necessarily so many international
repercussions to the economic success of the U.S.   But why such an
avid interest in U.S. health care, I can't help but wonder?)

Whether it's from Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, or Australia,
the posters on this list from those countries never miss an opportunity
to suggest that for the Americans, only the government solution makes
sense.

It's odd, because I would suppose that a sort of world-wide "diversity",
i.e., socialized in their own countries, private in the U.S.,  would provide
them the best of both worlds: the private system would have different
incentives to create health solutions (new research, etc.), while their
own countries could continue picking up most of the tab for their own
citizens. And by the same token, those citizens would still be free to
"go next door", as a significant number of Canadians often do, to see
what the "other system" has available or is providing.

Your six points below seem exemplary to me.

Lee

> 1. Determine what are they component parts and how they are connected;
> such as emergency care, pharmacy, etc.  Are there parallel systems?
> 
> 2. Determine how it is controlled, financed and regulated at the macro
> level.  And then how these macro level factors influence micro level
> decisions.  And the reverse.
> 
> 3. To the extent that some or all of a health care system is controlled
> by an identifiable entity does that entity have a goal or goals?  Are
> these goals internally consistent and do they conflict with the goals of
> other groups?  How are these conflicts resolved?
> 
> 3. Do individuals and groups have alternative options which they can
> pursue without penalties? 
> 
> 4. Are the caps or limits or rationing on various types of care?  Are
> all illnesses and diseased covered and to what extent?
> 
> 5. What are the demographic and other inputs into the system?  This
> includes factors such as age, work history, obesity, smoking, substance
> abuse just to name a few.
> 
> 6. How are outcomes identified and measured?  Age of death, amount of
> suffering, time on waiting lists for diagnostics, time on waiting lists
> for surgery, percentage of persons receiving preventative care, etc.
> 
> These are just a few of the items that need to be considered in order to
> even begin to have a reasonable comparison of health care systems.  And
> please avoid the glib but obviously wrong statements.  For example to
> say the USA has a free market health care system just shows a lack of
> knowledge.
> 
> Fred