It can be done

Dylan Scott tells the tale of Taiwan ' s successful implementation of single payer national health care. If you read the whole article you ' ll find a strange ambivalence. He seems to feel compelled to practice both-sideism and find a downside, but he fails to put it in context.The purported downside is that health care costs keep rising so they have to choose between raising more revenues and restricting services. But that has nothing to do with the single payer system. That ' s true everywhere, no matter what kind of payment system, including in the U.S. In the UK, the Conservative governments have failed to provide enough revenue for the National Health Service for many years now, which has resulted in some problems with quality and waits for elective procedures, as well as physician burnout. But that ' s no an indictment of the concept, it ' s an indictment of the execution. Both the UK and Taiwanese systems are much more efficient than the U.S. system, by not squandering 20% or more on administration, marketing and profit; and they cover everybody.Another problem in Taiwan is a shortage of doctors. Basically, the production of new physicians didn ' t keep up with the increased demand  once everybody got coverage. But this is also a solvable problem. It is expensive and does take a long time to make new M.D.s, but a lot of routine health care can be provided by professionals who are a lot cheaper and faster to produce -- physician assistants and nurse practitioners. ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs