A short comparison between France and the US...and there's some real truth to the last line here....BD
What is the problem? HMO's/insurance companies act as middlemen. A third of the costs of providing health care in this country go into the insurance company bureaucracy, PR, stock options and profits. Those things have nothing to do with providing health care and create enormous inefficiencies.
What is the solution? In France (ranked first by WHO) the profit is removed from the system. The government acts as a "single payer" that subsidizes all the costs of health care. Because the middleman is removed, health care is much cheaper to provide, and although citizens may pay for the service in taxes, they are paying much less overall. Hospitals and practices remain privately owned and operated, so they can compete with each other and stay efficient and drive down costs (you can choose any doctor you'd like). Single-payer care also means poor citizens don't forego preventive care and pack the emergency rooms, further driving down the cost of health care.
Former British MP Tony Benn says it best in SiCKO in reference to war-torn Britain's decision to create the National Health Service in 1948: "If you can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people."
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