Which Countries Have Single-Payer Health Systems?

[kristopher]

29. Here is Anderson in an interview saying single payer is how to reduce costs

'It's the Prices, Stupid': An Interview with Health Policy Expert Gerard Anderson

By Gerard Anderson, Elizabeth Palmberg
Sojourners, June 2011

Sojourners: What are some of the most important causes for why the U.S. is paying a lot more than other wealthy countries [in the OECD] for health care without getting improved results?

Anderson: A higher health-care cost is pretty much because of what I call, “It’s prices, stupid.” We just pay approximately twice as much for each good and service that we utilize in the U.S. vis-a-vis other industrial countries. In fact, for a hospital visit it’s about three times more than other industrialized countries for a similar visit — in a shorter period of time that you’re in the hospital, we still spend about three times more. So it seems to be that we just pay more for identical services compared to other industrialized countries.

Sojourners: Why?

Anderson: Because, in most other countries they have a single purchaser, which is a very tough negotiator, whereas in the United States we have so many different purchasers that nobody has a lot of power.

Sojourners: If you didn’t have to think about political realities at all, what health-care policies would you suggest the U.S. adopt?

Anderson: Basically, that everybody has the same health care and access to the same health care.

Sojourners: Through a single-payer system?

Anderson: Well, that’s the payment side. And then access to the same delivery system as well.

Sojourners: So, both single-payer and a standardized quality of care?

Anderson: Correct.

https://sojo.net/magazine/june-2011/its-prices-stupid-interview-health-policy-expert-gerard-anderson