Re:Dean Kamen: Healthcare Debate "Backward Looking"
by vidarh on Friday August 07, 2009 @04:06PM
(#748445)
> He is partially right - the lack of extreme-expense health care drives out extreme high-end solutions such as the article's highlighted "Luke" arm, a prosthetic that is almost as good as the real thing.
But this isn't even a discussion point in most countries with socialized health-care: Only a handful of countries worldwide prevent private treatments and/or private health insurance on top of the government provided options.
In the UK for example, the two work fine side by side. Everyone has access to the NHS, for "free" (i.e. for their portion of taxes, possibly 0), while people who want to pay extra can pay for the fancy extras that are deemed too expensive or unnecessary.
Apart from dental (which is poorly covered) and purely elective procedure, like most cosmetic surgery, most people show little to no interest in going beyond the NHS - only about 10% have private insurance.
But this isn't even a discussion point in most countries with socialized health-care: Only a handful of countries worldwide prevent private treatments and/or private health insurance on top of the government provided options.
In the UK for example, the two work fine side by side. Everyone has access to the NHS, for "free" (i.e. for their portion of taxes, possibly 0), while people who want to pay extra can pay for the fancy extras that are deemed too expensive or unnecessary.
Apart from dental (which is poorly covered) and purely elective procedure, like most cosmetic surgery, most people show little to no interest in going beyond the NHS - only about 10% have private insurance.