Any discussion of a US Universal Medical Plan must begin with the recognition that our current medical system—with all its faults–is generally regarded by foreigners as the best medical plan on the planet. Why?…you ask. Consider other countries medical plans. Cost, access and quality are the best benchmarks for measuring value. In ALL cases—no matter what you may have heard–our plan is by far the better option. As to cost, most foreign universal plans cost is funded by payroll deductions and those approximate 15% to 20% of gross wages in most developed countries. Compare that to the roughly 7% total we pay here for FICA. Let’s talk “access”. Canadian citizens receive approximately 80% of all inpatient surgeries within 20 miles of the Canadian-US border—ON THIS SIDE OF THAT BORDER. The reason: doctors and hospitals limit their caseloads and therefore do not see nearly as many patients/day as their American counterparts. Many times British citizens schedule vacations to America so they can get treatment immediately for something that might take months on the British Isles. The current waiting list for major surgery in Britain is 10 months and you may be “bumped” to a later date if circumstances dictate a delay–from either your condition or any outside forces that you cannot control. Now for “quality of care”…It is no secret among medical experts that America is the world leader in medical technology, elite medical training, distribution of medical resources and continuing research on equipment, drugs and techniques. The result is obvious…better quality of care. So, to sum up…lower cost, much better access and highest quality of care is what we have now. Going “universal” in the US would be “do-able” but only if we carefully craft a national plan that anticipates and minimizes the faults of other countries existing plans. NEXT TIME: BEHIND THE SCENES MEDICAL PRACTICE, INSURANCE AND OTHER HIDDEN ACTIVITIES.
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