"There is one major country that does not guarantee health care to all people," said Bernie Sanders in a Democratic debate in February.
No prizes for guessing which country to which he was referring.
T.R. Reid, veteran journalist and author of The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (Penguin Press, 2010), revisits his extensive reporting on how other developed nations provide healthcare to their citizens and how they compare to the U.S. system.
Reid thinks that American can and should get to universal coverage and be able to cover everybody at a reasonable cost, but he doesn't believe Washington D.C. will do it. It'll have to be a state-by-state effort.
If you think about it, child labor laws, women's suffrage, legalized marijuana, and many other things began on a state-by-state basis, said Reid. His guess is that universal coverage will start with his home state of Colorado.
. @brianlehrer My German FIL had prostate cancer. Not only did ins. pay for treatment, but also sent him to a health spa to recuperate.
— A. W. Sommers (@allison_sommers) April 29, 2016
.@BrianLehrer Italy. FREE ER. $18 Walk-in strep test. $60 next-day private DR appt vs 3 month wait for public, $0. (40% + out in taxes)
— annie b shapero (@anniedivino) April 29, 2016
@chedbat75 Tell us more, Ched. How does it work?
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) April 29, 2016
@BrianLehrer we run our own hospital. All Choctaw members receive free health care. We just built a new hospital a few years ago.
— Ched (@chedbat75) April 29, 2016
@BrianLehrer I spent 5 months in India during 2009. When A classmate broke a toe the total bill w/ cast was 1,000 to 1,500 rupees (~$20).
— Patrick McAndrews (@mcandp2) April 29, 2016
@BrianLehrer wonderful staff. I live in NYC and miss having the support. The US system seems so backwards
— Ched (@chedbat75) April 29, 2016
What Ted Cruz is calling for is already Obamacare, but he says slash taxes while providing same subsidies. #s don't add up. -@therealtrreid
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) April 29, 2016