Unfortunately as an alternative provider, the medical evidence used to ration care still almost exclusively excludes the kind of care I do, meaning many patients are unable to benefit from it.

The article is a little long, but worth reading.  Find it here.

What are your thoughts?  Is rationing an unfortunate necessity?  Share them with us in the comments section below.

I recently saw a PBS special called Sick around the World.  The basic idea of the show was to look around the world at other modern democracies and see how they have implemented universal coverage.  By learning from them perhaps we can find solutions to our own problems.  Reporter T.R. Reid traveled to five countries: Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland to understand their universal health coverage.

Bottom line: If we want to provide universal coverage to our population here in the US, there are the lessons taught to us by other modern democracies doing it.

1. It is possible to create universal coverage using private insurance companies, private doctors, and private hospitals.  However, health care cannot be left entirely to the free market and must be regulated.
2. Insurance companies must be forced to accept everyone; no exclusions, no pre-existing conditions, no dropping coverage, etc.
3. Insurance companies should not be able to make a profit on basic care.  Insurance companies in countries like Germany and Switzerland are non-profits.
4. Everyone must be forced to buy health insurance; the government pays for policies for the poor
5. Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and equipment manufacturers must accept fixed prices for their goods and services.  In all 5 countries visited doctors earned less than they do in the United States.  This was offset by the fact that they graduated without medical school debt (often around $200,000 in the US) and their malpractice insurance was 1/10^th of what it is in the United States.

The special is a little less than an hour, available free on the Internet and well worth your time.  While the issue is massive and complicated, if we believe health care is a right and we see that other modern democracies are providing it, aren’t we obligated to as well?

Watch the show here.

What are your thoughts?  Is health care a right or a privilege?  We’d love to hear from you, please post your comments below.