Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Human Expense of a Single-Payer Health care System

Critics love to point out the dismal state of healthcare in the U.S. Currently, most patients in our country are covered by private insurance and the rest receive government assistance. I disagree with their critique. The majority of foreigners who travel abroad for surgeries and major treatments, come to the U.S. If not the patients, then the doctors come to the US to be trained in our schools and hospitals so they can return home and provide quality healthcare. These reports tend to overlook the quality of immediate treatment which is something we have in the US.
The Daily Mail (U.K.) reports that more than seven million patients have been unable to see an NHS dentist for almost two years. The biggest road blocks in the way of them receiving dental care is not money but access. I think it is interesting that in order to get moderately good dental care, a majority of those surveyed chose to get private insurance and forgo the taxpayer funded system. I don't think John Edwards plan will even let you do that. Edwards plan proposes withholding of tax refunds and garnishment of wages for Americans who don't sign up for his plan.

The charity's survey of 1,800 people, carried out by Ipsos MORI, found that lack of access was the most common reason for not seeing an NHS dentist, along with not needing treatment. ...It(the survey) cited the case of a low-income pensioner given emergency dental treatment in a hospital in North Yorkshire then told to get further treatment from one of two local NHS dentists both of whom have 12-month waiting lists. Citizens Advice said the findings suggested 7.4million people had tried and failed to see an NHS dentist, with around 4.7million seeking private care instead and 2.7 million going without treatment altogether.

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