RE: Workers Paradise. /Political rant.

[Simon Spero <ses@tipper.oit.unc.edu>]

> So why in the world do those crazy Canadians keep coming here for

> BTW, looking at historical costs of medical care and the level of
>government involvement, it is safe to say that the US has too much
>socialism in our medical system right now, and that it what's making the
>best system (ours) so expensive when it would not be otherwise. 

I wouldn't be so proud of the US health care system; the actual quality 
of care is really pretty awful, even with insurance. Even though the 
NAtional Health Service in the uK is woefully underfunded, I've always 
had much better treatment than I have from HMOs here; even seeing a 
specialist privately, at home, with no insurance, is cheaper than getting 
an X-Ray looked at by someone who once met a radiologist a cocktail 
party. 

The UK split the provision of services from the purchasing, so that
hospitals have to compete for business, and a HMO like funding model for
primary care physicians - fixed capitation rates, so the more a doctor
spends, the less money he/she makes). It may be that the most efficient
solution for health-care is a hybrid scheme along these lines. 

There are ideological reasons that argue  for rejecting  such 
compulsory schemes  based on that element of coercion; it's hard to 
make the case against purely on efficiency grounds.

Simon  
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