Where Is Healthcare Going? The government single-payer model that liberals aspire to for the U.S. is already in trouble in other developed countries. The liberal attraction to the Britain's socialized National Health Service (NHS) became increasingly clear when the White House installed an outspoken NHS fan, Donald Berwick, as an interim appointee (2010- 11) to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It’s curious how liberal think tanks like the Commonwealth Fund issue reports ranking the NHS as the best medical system among those in 11 of the world's most advanced nations, including Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. Coming in last by their rankings of course: U.S. health care. What’s curious is how the Commonwealth rankings are contradicted by objective data. For instance: Americans diagnosed with heart disease receive treatment with medications significantly more frequently than patients in Western Europe American cancer patients have survival rates better than those in Western Europe and Britain. For many more causes of death, ample scientific evidence shows we are leading not falling behind. The disparity in news reports vs. reality is the that liberal reports are most often based on surveys that rely heavily on subjective surveys about perceptions and experiences of patients and physicians. Curiously, even as the single-payer NHS system remains the ideal for many on the left, it's worth looking closer at how Britain's NHS is faring. Recent reports tell us: Hospital waiting list soared to their highest point since 2006, with 3.2 million patients waiting for treatment after diagnosis. Over half a million people in London alone were waiting for operations or other treatments More than 15% of patients diagnosed with suspected cancer waited more than two months—to begin their first treatment. Not surprisingly, the British are discovering their government is not all that great at managing healthcare. As you might expect, Britons who can afford to avoid the NHS are eager to do so. Despite the government plan to provide “free” healthcare to all, many British citizens now buy private health insurance with hundreds of thousands choosing to pay for private treatment out-of-pocket. The socialized-medicine model is struggling across Europe. Even in Sweden, often the favorite example of welfare state success, long wait times for treatment available in the U.S. have been widely documented. What is not usually reported by the liberal press is that the Swedish government has greatly pushed the introduction of private-market forces to improve access, quality and choices. Almost 600,000 Swedes now use private insurance, though they are "guaranteed" public health care. In the United States the Veterans Affairs scandals remain glaring red flags that Government run healthcare is a disaster waiting to happen again and again. Although rarely reported in the press, evidence is coming in from other countries that have tried socialized medicine and found it lacking. The reality is that reducing spending, expanding access to affordable coverage, preserving personal choice, portability of coverage, promoting competition in insurance markets, and maintaining excellence in medicine—do not require government to directly provide health care. Getting quality medical service will increasingly require selecting a doctor that offers a more personalized service. For a fee, seniors can contract with a personal care/concierge doctor that offers prompt access, adequate time for appointments, options for calling them directly, time to make good medical decisions, and advocacy when seeking care beyond the primary care doctor’s office. In Huntsville, Alabama, many view the opportunity to obtain personal care as a positive since it provides their doctor time to listen, make the best medical decisions and teach them what they need to know rather than 5-7 minute appointments where healthcare needs get kicked down the road. By providing adequate appointment time and care, this new type of personal care doctor helps keep their patients maintain the best quality of life, stay out of the hospital and avoid unnecessary procedures. Tell Me More about Concierge Physicians in Huntsville, Alabama. Exit |