Posted on 08/01/2009 12:39:40 PM PDT by Halfmanhalfamazing
Bryan Caplan of EconLog has an interesting blog post on Singapore’s Health Care System. In the post, he reviews Ghesquiere’s “Singapore’s Success,” analyzing Singapore’s health care system.
Harford finds that Singapore spends a third of what the U.S. does on health care (as a percentage of GDP) yet has better health indicators. Of course, much of this may be attributable to lifestyle differences rather than a superior health care system. Nevertheless, the Singapore system has some very interesting characteristics:
* There are mandatory health savings accounts: “Individuals pre-save for medical expenses through mandatory deductions from their paychecks and employer contributions… Only approved categories of medical treatment can be paid for by deducting one’s Medisave account, for oneself, grandparents, parents, spouse or children: consultations with private practitioners for minor ailments must be paid from out-of-pocket cash…” * “The private healthcare system competes with the public healthcare, which helps contain prices in both directions. Private medical insurance is also available.” * Private healthcare providers are required to publish price lists to encourage comparison shopping. * The government pays for “basic healthcare services… subject to tight expenditure control.” Bottom line: The government pays 80% of “basic public healthcare services.” * Government plays a big role with contagious disease, and adds some paternalism on top: “Preventing diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tobacco-related illnesses by ensuring good health conditions takes a high priority.” * The government provides optional low-cost catatrophic health insurance, plus a safety net “subject to stringent means-testing.” * Almost all care is subject to significant co-pays.
Regardless of your stand on universal health care, instituting co-pays is an important means to control cost. Nobel Laurette Muhammad Yunus agrees with this statement, even applying this to principle to developing nations, “I think it’s very important to have the patients, the people who are asking for health services, to pay.” (see 26 March 2007 post)
You can check out my own review of East Asian health care systems here.
Socialism. It's a failure.
But Singapore is different. It isn't perfect. The fact that they mandated HSAs seems counter-intuitive to the ideals of liberty and freedom, but this is clearly a better example than anything else that congress and the liberal media are currently peddling.
Singapore sucks.
It may. But it’s healthcare system is one of the best models to follow.
If it wasn’t for their HSA mandate, it might’ve been the best.
Oh sure, nothing socialistic about mandatory savings, and of course, the government telling you what you can spend it on.
This seems like a decent system. Things I really like about it are:
Health savings account, although mandatory
Mandatory price listing
Allow private insurance
I believe the Democrat-backed programs include none of these provisions.
No thanks.
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For an Oriental automaton society run by dictators, fine. For freedom-loving Americans who want government out of their lives to the maximum extent possible, no sale. Health care & health insurance are not civil rights, as many would have us believe.
Imagine mandatory savings just sitting there, no doubt in a government managed account. Sound familiar? How long before they were filled with nothing bu IOU’s from Congress?
Lived there and loved it. They also have a very good retirement system with individual accounts. This plus the health savings accounts has made a lot of Singapore citizens I know into rich people in the 30 plus years that I have known them.
Their political system is not a perfect model, but they have managed to curb most corruption and have almost gotten to the point where there is legitimate opposing parties.
If the enforcement against slackers and foreigners is strict, you can't compare it to ObamaCare. In fact, Obama could learn from it, but he doesn't wish to, because he wants to import a foolproof, long-term voting majority.
I’ll betcha East Asians in the U.S. are as healthy as those in Singapore.
Another apples and oranges comparison. Pretty darn worthless in my book.
Disingenuous comparison. How many people does Singapore have compared to the U.S.? Their population is about 4 million.
Could you elaborate a bit on why it ‘sucks’? Your comment doesn’t add much to the discussion.
Singapore is a very regimented society, but people seem to like it pretty well. Their intolerance of illegal drugs, for example, is one factor that comes under “lifestyle differences” yet has a profound impact on healthcare.
It’s interesting to contemplate how much support there would be in the US for really tough (draconian?) laws against drug possession and use vs support for national healthcare.
Well I favor legalization of Pot so that would be a no...I dont want to live in a draconian society....
This is akin to Obama admiring the Chinese infrastructure as “superior”....
Sure...neat...but look at the source and the human cost...
There system works because they live in a near police state..not becuase it’s superiour...
-———Oh sure, nothing socialistic about mandatory savings-———
I’ve made note of that twice.
That’s the point of moving toward an HSA based system. Let individuals control their own lives.
Unlike what Singapore has, we should go for one that isn’t mandated.
——————This is akin to Obama admiring the Chinese infrastructure as “superior”.... There system works because they live in a near police state..not becuase it’s superiour...—————
HSAs have proven to reduce costs in other places besides singapore.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5482
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Yes yes...and I have a HSA myself....but that wasnt the point of the article....the article reveres singapores system and cost savings yet compleltly ignores the near total control by the govt in ALL aspects of daily life...which leads us back to my original reply...
Singapore sucks....no thanks.
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