The lefties made fun of me for touting the Singapore healthcare system. But people are starting to catch on, as you can see here:
The World Health Organization’s most recent full report on global health statistics says the United States spends 15.4 percent of its GDP on healthcare, while Singapore spends just 3.7 percent.
What’s the reason for Singapore’s success? It’s not government spending. The state, using taxes, funds only about one-fourth of Singapore’s total health costs. Individuals and their employers pay for the rest. In fact, the latest figures show that Singapore’s government spends only $381 (all dollars in this article are U.S.) per capita on health—or one-seventh what the U.S. government spends.
Singapore’s system requires individuals to take responsibility for their own health, and for much of their own spending on medical care. As the Health Ministry puts it, “Patients are expected to co-pay part of their medical expenses and to pay more when they demand a higher level of service. At the same time, government subsidies help to keep basic healthcare affordable.”
Looks like a model to mimick as we move away from the status quo.
-Max Borders
I like how Ted Kennedy was able to instantly book a surgery with one of the world’s finest brain surgeons. Of course Ted would never stoop to being put on a waiting list and having to show up to a first-come-first-serve government-sponsored clinic with uninspired healthcare providers…like he wants the rest of us to do.