Commentary on the International Healthcare Debate
Civitas, 24 August 2009
As we have noted in recent weeks, health system reform has been high on the agenda of policy makers in both the US and UK, and has been featured widely in international news media. Here is a round-up of recent opinions and contributions to the debate:
Transatlantic rift over the NHS: Healthier than thou (The Economist)
The Economist gives a brief, unbiased comparison of the two systems in light of the recent debate. A few points:
• On the most basic metric of life expectancy at birth, Britain (79.1 years) outscores America (77.8).
• A similar story emerged from a study in 2006 that used direct measures to compare the health of middle-aged people: the Americans were sicker than the English.
• On the other hand, Britain scores worse than America in five-year survival rates for cancer.
• High-tech diagnostic equipment is less abundant in the UK: in 2007 there were, for example, 25.9 MRI scanners per million Americans compared with 8.2 in Britain.
• Expensive new drugs generally become widely available sooner in America than in Britain.
Britons Fault Health Service, Until Others Do (The New York Times)
Several dozen people rallied in front of the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square last Wednesday, holding up pro-N.H.S. signs. “The N.H.S. is not perfect,” the rally’s organizer, Bruce Kent, told reporters, “but it is being really badly abused in the U.S.A., and on utterly unreasonable grounds.”
Why I don’t believe that the NHS is sacrosanct (The Independent)
Deputy editor of The Independent, Ian Birrell, tells the heartbreaking story of his daughter’s diagnosis and treatment for a rare genetic mutation, by an unresponsive, insensitive NHS. “Of course, everyone loves the NHS now. It is officially sacrosanct. Our doctors are deities, our health care the envy of the world. And anyone who says anything different is an unpatriotic schmuck who should go and join those losers in the United States. (Although American doctors terrified of litigation would have done all the tests possible on my daughter if I’d sufficient insurance, and would think twice about lying to patients.)”
USA versus the NHS (The Times)
The US provides some of the highest quality medical care in the world—if your insurance covers it or if you can personally afford it. Gives the example of a British woman who moved to the US, where she was diagnosed with cancer: “Every time you go for any treatment here, they want to see your insurance card and check every detail they have about you, and that is wearisome,” said Whiteman, 49. “But I’ve had some terrific treatment.” A Berkshire consultant in pain management was also diagnosed with cancer and chose to fly to Philadelphia for his treatment. He says of the NHS: “Ours is an equitable, morally cogent way of doing things. But looking at the amount and quality of research into my cancer, there was a clear difference between Britain and the United States.”
Healthy NHS scepticism (The Times)
A selection of letters to the Times expressing readers’ viewpoints on the NHS and the criticism it has been receiving in relation to US health reform.
Do you think the criticism of the NHS in the US and the subsequent outpouring of love for the health service here are justified?