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8.24.2005

Health insurance in America, or lack thereof

This is a pretty horrifying article from this week's New Yorker about the state of health in America today. I was not surprised by what a lot of what it said. I took a class on the economics of health care when I was a senior in college and learned a lot of the same things. I was a bit surprised by the magnitude of the problem, and by the position of the Bush Administration, which I fully admit to paying little attention to. Some of the highlights (okay, a bit more than highlights) below:

THE MORAL-HAZARD MYTH
The bad idea behind our failed health-care system.
by MALCOLM GLADWELL

Comments:
One issue I've encountered is that many of the high-end providers are simply opting-out of the insurance system. If there is a government-run plan, what would prevent them from simply not accepting it?
 
Are providers required to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients? I thought the government could require you to accept certain patients, or at least some percentage or something? What happens in Israel? I know that you can purchase extra, supplementary insurance there, so that wealthier people have better coverage than people who are only on the state-run plan, but, still, everyone would have basic care.

But it's a good question. I don't really know. How does it work everywhere else where it works?
 
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