Pretty much everyone wants a better healthcare system. The desire for change stems from two basic concerns:
- We want every American to be have insurance (e.g. you shouldn’t have to pay for your own healthcare if you can’t afford it)
- We think the cost of healthcare is too high
The major proponents of change would also have you believe that America has a horrible healthcare system because we have higher incidence of newborn fatalities and a lower life expectancy than other nations. They say these are signals of a failed healthcare system.
But are they? I’ve argued before, and I’ll argue again, that the cause of poor health in America has nothing to do with our healthcare system. When you need critical care, there is no place better than America to get it. America also is the runaway leader in healthcare research and generates more Nobel prize winners in Medicine than any other country.
So why do we die early? Jamie Oliver, winner of this year’s TED Prize tells you why. And the cost of the fix is cheap, and has nothing to do with our healthcare system. The problem is us. Changing insurance won’t make us live longer. He’s a great speaker, I hope you’ll watch.