Hello all, I am back with fact.
From the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. US government programs account for 45% of all health care spending but cover less than 25% of the population.
Article entitled "Why isn't Government Health Care the Answer" from the Free Market Cure. WHO study used something called "fairness in financial contribution" as an assesment factor in their global rankings, marking down countries with high per capita private or fee paying health treatment.
Harvard School of Madicine and the Canadian Institute for Health study. 31% of US health care dollarswent to administrative costs.
Cato Institute study shows that regulatory compliance costs pulic 340 Billion dollars in 2005. The biggest part of that money went to compliance with malpractise law, FDA and facilities regulation.
From an article titled "The Uninsured: Access to Medical Care" from the American College of Emergency Medicine. In 1986 the Emergency Medical Treatment Act and Active Labor Act required all hospital ER's to treat emergency patients regardless of ability to pay. This is an unfunded mandate and now over 50% of all emergency care goes unpaid. This cost is then transferred to the insured resulting in skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
From the Institute of Medicine. Between 1993 and 2003 emergency room visits increased 20% and 425 ER's closed.
I also had a chance to read about the British and Canadian plans. Two years ago, in response to much complaint, the British enacted a maximum 18 week gaurantee. This say that from the time you are referred to a specialist you will be tested and treated within 18 weeks. This may be why one of my customers sister in law died from cancer before she received her diagnosis six months after she saw her GP. Also choice in GP's is limited and choice in specialists seems not to be an option. The Canadian plan seemed to be pretty good. The only problems I saw there were limited access to specialists and specialty treatment and Canadiam facilities have not been able to keep current with technological improvements. I don't see a US system being any better.