..explain how that is possible.
A better measure might be % of GDP.
Jonathan Kay: Want a better health-care system? Take a look at Taiwan ...
Posted: April 16, 2008, 4:37 PM by Jonathan Kay
Yesterday, National Public Radio's All Things Considered did a great piece on a health-care system we don't hear much about: Taiwan's. I'm no expert, but Taiwan's universal coverage program seems to be the whole package. Consider:
* No gatekeepers! Walk directly into a specialist's office — even without a referral from your MD
* No waiting lists!
* It's cheap: Taiwan spends 6% of its GDP on health care, compared to 16% in the United States and 10% in Canada
* Free choice of doctors (unlike under U.S. HMOs)
* The system is single-payor, as in Canada — but lots of private providers can compete freely within the system (which is technically permitted in Canada, but often discouraged by governments).
* Everyone gets a smart card, which you present to every doctor you see. The card permits health-care providers to access all of your medical health records, so patients don't spend hours on the phone trying to get health-clinic secretaries to send their files/X-rays/Cat-scans from one doctor to the next.
* Because of all this upscale IT, total administrative costs represent just 2% of total health costs in Taiwan — compared to 17% here, and 31% in the United States.
How did Taiwan end up with such a great system? Simple: They set their system up in 1995, very late compared to other developed nations. As such, they had a chance to look at other countries (including Canada) to see what worked and what didn't. As a result, their system is based on empirical observation — not rigid ideological dogma, as in Canada.
The Taiwanese should count themselves lucky that they never had a Tommy Douglas.
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