HEALTH CARE: Time to catch up, America

The United States is a bit behind the times when it comes to national health care. One hundred twenty-nine years, in fact.

In 1883, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck instituted single-payer health insurance. The primary features of his plan, which has been adopted by many nations are: short waits; quality care; low costs and simplified administration. He also made insurance nonprofit. A key point is that claims are paid without challenge, which has worked through the Second Empire, the Weimar Republic, Hitler’s Reich and post-war Germany. A key point is that even with this feature Germany still has better care at a lower cost than the U.S.

This is not “socialized” medicine: von Bismarck was a reactionary, committed to keeping the elite in power. He was, however, smart enough to realize that national health care was a uniting force in a nation being rocked by Marxists, many different flavors of socialists and a rising middle class. The most important point is that privatized health care can exist in a regulated market.

One thing we can learn from the Bismarck system is that paying for doctors’ educations saves everyone money in the long run. It also prevents rationed health care either by the government or the health-insurance industry. I think that everyone, barring a few radicals, thinks that health care for all under a private system is desirable.

In short, by limiting profit for health insurers we can set up a system that works, is cheap, and, in practice, gives everyone a fair level of care. Remember, this isn’t socialized medicine, even to the point that Medicare is. The current cost of medical care in the United States is 16 percent. Germany pays only 10 percent and has a better outcome rate than we do.

JEFF BOURGET

Coeur d’Alene