Global push to guarantee universal health coverage leaves US behind

[eridani]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-global-health-reform-20120512,0,602510,print.story

Even as Americans debate whether to scrap President Obama's healthcare law and its promise of guaranteed health coverage, many far less affluent nations are moving in the opposite direction — to provide medical insurance to all citizens.

China, after years of underfunding healthcare, is on track to complete a three-year, $124-billion initiative projected to cover more than 90% of the nation's residents.

Mexico, which a decade ago covered less than half its population, just completed an eight-year drive for universal coverage that has dramatically expanded Mexicans' access to life-saving treatments for diseases such as leukemia and breast cancer.

In Thailand, where the gross domestic product per person is a fifth of America's, just 1% of the population lacks health insurance. And in sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda and Ghana — two of the world's poorest nations — are working to create networks of insurance plans to cover their citizens.

"This is truly a global movement," said Dr. Julio Frenk, a former health minister in Mexico and dean of the Harvard School of Public Health. "As countries advance, they are realizing that creating universal healthcare systems is a necessity for long-term economic development."

[teddy51]

1. Cut out the middle guy (HMO's) and any others that are for profit and we certainly

can have a great Health Care system in this country. At this moment, and for as long as I can remember our Health Care has sucked big time compared to most of the developed world.

[PSPS]

2. Even Iraq has single-payer health coverage for all of its citizens.

Article 31 in the US-imposed constitution gives broad coverage for all citizens of Iraq, and this was written by the Bush junta, later ratified by the Iraqi people.

In GOP world, we're just not entitled to modern health coverage like the rest of the world. We should just eat our peas.

[limpyhobbler]

3. The solutions to US healthcare woes are so glaringly obvious they hardly bear repeating.

Everybody knows we need a public plan like at least a Canadian-style system, if not a UK-style system, at least as an option for people to choose.

Yet we simply can't have it because the strangle hold of big money over our government is too great. Not even as an option for people to choose if they wish.

I hope some day we will get there. I would like to see us revisit the public option in Obama's second term. The President seems to have found some new courage and clarity recently, speaking clearly that gay people should be able to get married.

Stong leader, that's good. I hope he is able to find some similar courage on this health care issue and make a clear statement that access to high quality health care ought to be a basic right in America.

It's truly disgraceful to think some of these underdevloped "third world" countries might actually start passing us up on health care outcomes. And all because we're so determined that nobody should get anything for free, and that nothing has any real value unless some person or corporation profits from it.

[jwirr]

4. Well at least the rest of the world will have health care. Not so sure about us. Capitalism must

have its role in everything even when it does not work.

[Zalatix]

5. What kind of health care plans are these?

I mean, do they use the Bismarck model, the NHI model, the Beveridge model, or some hybrid of the above?

[eridani]

6. That will vary by country

China will invest much more in government clinics. Poor coutnries will start with just the basics. Single payer has been the model chosen by developing countries since the 80s.