Discuss 'The Healing of America,' by T.R. Reid

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Dear Mr, Reid ,
I saw review of yr book on PBS tv, Very good, but you have missed a big part of
Indian system, Many hospitals are set up by charities, Majority population get treated there, satisfactorily,
Enlighten all people, when we leave this world, we can not take any wealth with us or can not keep any bank for next birth, H,K, Savla

H K Savla of CA 3:00PM May 16, 2011

What she doesn't tell you in her article about health care in other countries, like Germany, is that they pay up to a 20% VAT tax on everything they buy! I was in Germany for 4 years, and the Germans paid 14% on top of every purchase AFTER sales tax!
That's how they pay for the universal coverage. Could you imagine paying an additional 15 to 20 percent at restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. It's outragious and disingenious for these writers to sing the praises of foreign healthcare systems without mentioning the crushing tax burden that pays for it.

Dan Chase of TX 1:02AM November 06, 2009

I wish TR Reid would now investigate the QUALITY of healthcare in America. It is very poor, profit driven and often not science based. Just visit a support group on the internet! He will find angry, frustrated, damaged victims who are helping others with true healthcare solutions.

Gracia of ME 12:25AM September 24, 2009

My mother and father were doctors. My father a sick man was a urologist in private practice who did not bill aquarter of his patients, my mother w0orked for a City Health Dept and was unpaid medical superintendent of an Anglicaqn Schoolfor midwives in South Africa. I went to Medical School in 1947. I have been on a salary all my life. I have worked in a Government Hospital (tax supported), UK National Health Service (tax supported), Mayo clinic (Fee for service private practice with all doctors on salary) and for 37 years in the Bronx running Cardiac Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medeical Center. At the Weiler Hospital we were on salary. The money that we were paid came from fee for service billed in our name. We treated privately insured, Medicare, Medicaid and completely uninsured patients all the same. Believe it or not we were sometimes breaking the Law when we did that.We competed to be the best at our craft but never for money. From this experience I have confidence that systems of the kind that TR Reid describes are eminently possible. In the US there are cultural beliefs and entrenched faith in the virtue of profit operating in an adversarial political system that mekes winning legislative battles far more important than real provision of service to the population. The Government has set its sights on the speedy passage of a reform bill. This is written in legislative jargon by people who have never been in the trenches. Careful reading of evolving versions of the proposed reform does not reveal certainty either of universal coverage or of stopping runaway inflation. In medicine, when we are uncertain of the worth of a remedy or the outcome of its use, it is unethical to release it publicly without first testing its worth in a clinical trial. We propose that in our present state of confusion, uncertainty and ignorance we should not proceed with a total overhaul without first testing conflicting approaches in a Clinical Trial.
I have sent plans for such a trial to senators and congressman without reply. It has now been submitted to the Medical Press for formal publication.I shall be happy to send more to readers who are interested.

Dr R W M Frater of NY 2:25PM September 16, 2009

T.R. Reid has nailed it. Why is the US the only rich country in the world to not provide health care for all citizens? It's a questions of ethics and morals. Where are ours?
This book lays out the health care provisions for all other industrialized countries--and yes, some of them are notably BETTER than what we have in the US. As shocking as that may seem to many, it is something to keep in mind through this health care reform crisis--and it is definitely a crisis.
Reid's point that universal health care is attainable--without sacrificing our freedoms is well made and supported n his book. We Americans can and should learn from other countries--they've done the footwork, and the groundwork has been laid out =for us--"all we have to do" is pick and choose the model we want to follow--and no, "following" is not always a bad thing.
In the end, it is sheer profit motivation and greed that is holding us back....and the misguided thinking of the right wing masses. And yet, these very same people can't wait to sign up for Medicare coverage as soon as they turn 65. Talk about a disconnect. Most of them don't even acknowledge (or realize?) that Medicare is a government run health care program--SHOCKING, but true!
Maybe this whole idea just needs repackaging to make it acceptable. How about "Medicare for all?"
Reid has done a masterful job of research and making the results fascinating reading. This book should be required reading for every member of Congress--and President Obama too--he would find it most helpful. Has anyone given him a copy?

Nancy Babcock of CA 12:31PM September 13, 2009

This is an informative and enjoyable book to read. It simply says that national universal healthcare is the moral thing to do. But just as importantly, the other developed countries of the world prove that it is the economically sensible thing to do. These other countries do not have perfect healthcare, but they are far closer to finding a solution to this serious problem then we are. If the United State sticks with our current national health care what we will get is a guarantee of disaster for all.

Jim of WI 9:43AM September 12, 2009

“More than 20,000 Americans die in the prime of life each year from medical problems that could be treated, but they cannot afford to see a doctor.” Thus begins T. R. Reids book, The Healing of America. His first example of such a casualty struck home; Nikki White lived in my home state of Tennessee. She had lupus and was shuffled around in the Tenncare system, refused care via letter after letter, until near death she received care too late to be effective.
Reid’s quest for a personal cure for an ailing right shoulder leads him to investigate the healthcare systems of the top industrialized nations: France, Germany, Japan, the UK and Canada. He deftly points out that most of these countries include private insurance and cannot be called “socialist” by any stretch of the imagination, he categorizes them by model. The Bismark model which uses private healthcare plans that are financed jointly by the employer and employee through payroll deductions is being used by Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Japan. The Beveridge model which finances healthcare through government taxes with no medical bills sent to the patient is used by the UK. The National Healthcare model used by Canada has a government insurance program, and collects monthly premiums from its citizenry. Only the poorest countries in the world like Africa, use the out-of-pocket method which leaves some to die from lack of ability to pay.
The main difference between the US and all other developed countries appears to be our mindset called “American exceptionalism” says Reid. We arrogantly believe that we know it all and other countries have nothing to teach us. This has painfully (and appropriately) earned the US the title of hypocrites, for as we tout our “Christian values” we hold the record for the highest infant mortality rates and the worst stats on deaths due to medical mishaps. We may have better technology but it clearly isn’t translating into a healthier populace. It is interesting to note that our US doctors are the highest paid “specialists” in the world, yet they have no incentive to keep us well.
It is clear from The Healing of America that US has the highest administrative costs of any nation. And what is that 20% covering? Pharmaceutical advertising, insurance company advertising, shareholder profits, paper shuffling by those sifting out claims to deny, CEO bonuses….everything but actual care. We claim we don’t want “rationed socialist care” all the while being confined to “provider networks” and “approved formularies.” Meanwhile in France, people can go anywhere in the country and use any doctor to be treated.
Our ability to pursue “life, liberty and happiness” depends upon healthcare reform. Once we’re committed to egalitarianism, we will truly be on the road to healing this divided nation and the people that live in it.

Rosanne Ferreri-Feske of TN 7:55AM September 10, 2009

I fell very strongly that everyone should help themselves and those around us, and that we have an obligation to help those of us less fortunate who cannot help themselves. Health should start with encouraging healthy habits for all of us. No smoking, reckless driving, eating right and in moderation and exercise.
I developed type II diabetes 12 years ago, lost 70 pounds through regular exercise, eating less and better food, and needed no medication for 8 years. Now 1 metformin and aspirin keeps it well under control. This is much less expensive than dialysis, amputation of feet with gangrene, blindness, gout, knee replacement, and treating heart attacks and stroke from obesity, and much better for me.
Next we should look after our family and neighbors, as many of us do. Many churches and other groups look after the old and sick that don't have family nearby. Young able retirees should volunteer to help those too old to drive, shop and cook. It is much more humane than the isolation many face or a nursing home.
We should encourage people to get a living will like my wife and I have gotten to avoid intensive care in hopeless end-of life situations that are extremely expensive and prolong suffering for ourselves and our loved ones.
Beyond that, we should have a private or public system that is available and paid for by all and that has to provide coverage for valid claims. You shouldn't have to be afraid of not having coverage at work, not being covered for pre-existing conditions or losing coverage because of job loss or chronic illness and going bankrupt or dying prematurely. I have written my Congressman and Senators with these ideas.
Reid's book shows us several countries such as Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and Japan where well-regulated insurance companies provide secure coverage at half the cost that we do. We need to change our delivery system or the post-war baby boomers (I was born in 1947) will bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid in the next few decades.
How about less ideology, and more responsibility, compassion and common sense.

Peter of VA 6:41PM September 07, 2009

Although I agree with much of what Mr. Reid says in the interview, I don't agree with his assertion that health care is a "right". This is the pap that has been spewed by the liberals in academia and the federal government for the past 40 years. The repetition is now apparently becoming creed for many. What ever happened to the idea of individual responsibility? Being healthy and living a healthful lifestyle is an indiviual's responsibility, not something that is "owed" to you by someone else. I will accept the assertion that government (local and state, particularily) do owe us the protection from an unhealthy enviroment (crime and pollution of all sorts), but cradle to grave care? Not really. Just keep your hands off of my income (taxes, anyone?) so that I can save for my own care.
Also, if I want to care for people in my neighborhood or regional area, by giving money, food, or time to them, I want to do it locally, not through some state or federal bureaucracy that needs stringent rules (that don't always apply) in order to work with some sort of efficiency and effectiveness.

R. P. Malchow of OR 6:10PM September 05, 2009

Last week the Detroit Free Press reported that the new Government health care bill had $ 10 BILLION in it for union retiree health care mostly for the UAW. The UAW sent its lawyers and lobbyist to Washington to get taxpayer money because they had to accept some Auto Company common stock in place of cash to fund its VEBA program. If the UAW could not get the cash from GM, Chrysler, and Ford, because of bankruptcy filings they decided that American taxpayers should pay. The new Government health care plan to cover all Americans is not good enough for the UAW. They want icing on their cake at taxpayer’s expense. This implies that workers, both union and non-union, who have a lot less health care insurance than the UAW, will be subsidizing their premium health care coverage. If this bill is passed with this outrage, a national boycott of anything made by the UAW should be initiated.

william of MI 1:55PM September 05, 2009