Afraid of Gov't-Financed Health Care? We Already Have It

Memo to Zaniya Project Task Force:

As I talk to my friends about health care reform, I generally advocate universal, single-payer health care, like what Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has been advocating for years. I often hear responses along the lines of, "Oh! We don't want to be like Canada!* When the government pays for health care, it messes everything up."

As the Zaniya Project entertains the question of the proper role of government in health care, they should consider that the United States already spends more public dollars per capita on health care than Canada, the UK, and a number of other countries that cover a lot more health care for their citizens:

Country: Public Dollars Per Capita Spent on Health Care (2004)
Austria: $2208.67
Canada: $2209.17
Germany: $2349.91
Netherlands: $1894.54
Sweden: $2398.43
Switzerland: $2380.97
United Kingdom: $2176.83
United States: $2727.59

[Source: OECD in Figures, 2006-2007, OECD Observer, pp. 8-9, 83. Online: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/get_file.php3/id/25/file/OECDInFigures2006-2007.pdf]

This same report (pp. 10-11) also shows the familiar statistics on the US having lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most OECD members. If our health care system is so great, why are we spending more and getting less? The Zaniya Project should look across the border and overseas and see what South Dakota could do to model these foreign models of efficient use of its citizens tax dollars.

*Funny -- when my Canadian friends talk about making changes to their health care system, they say, to a person, with great vigor and contempt, "Oh! We don't want to be like the United States!" [return to text]