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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

New Study Says Britain's Single Payer Healthcare System Best In World


"Medicare For All"

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"According to the report, the United Kingdom, which has a single-payer healthcare system, ranks first. In second place is Switzerland, which like the U.S. has a compulsory health insurance system — though Swiss health insurers are not allowed to make a profit off their basic insurance plans. It's important to note that one reason for America's lag, as the authors explain, is our historic absence of universal health coverage. But the data for the report was collected before the full implementation of Obamacare, which dramatically expanded health insurance, so it's possible that the U.S. may rise in future rankings." Olga Khazan in The Atlantic.

Primary source: The full text of the report. Commonwealth Fund.

So, can Obamacare change things? Maybe a bit. "Researchers relied on data collected before Obamacare’s full implementation, making the overhaul a significant wild card for future evaluations. The law extends subsidized coverage to qualified consumers and Medicaid for many of the lowest-earning Americans. Proponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) say it is narrowing health care inequities and will allow more people to take care of themselves, reducing costs over time....But even if Obamacare closes the gap in some areas, observers say high deductible health plans and a lack of primary care doctors to treat patients remain concerns." Tom Howell Jr. in the Washington Times.

Background reading: How to fix our health care system. Philip K. Howard in The Atlantic.


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