Look abroad
Other countries have more effective and less costly 'hybrid' health-care systems. Why not copy them?


This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
If we were a saner nation with a functional political system, we'd be having a very different debate about health care. Congressional Republicans wouldn't be trying to put health-care coverage out of the reach of millions of people (but only after the next election or two). Democrats wouldn't insist that the only alternative to the clunky status quo is a single-payer system that, as Vermont and California have already discovered, would require a doubling of taxes and government spending. In this saner nation, Republicans would see that it's foolish, and ultimately futile, to try to reverse ObamaCare's primary success: Most Americans now see health care as a right, not an optional consumer good. But ObamaCare needs fixing because it was conceived as a patch on a fundamentally incoherent system. The U.S. spends 50 to 100 percent more of its GDP than other advanced nations do on health care, to produce a system that still leaves millions uncovered and ranks at the bottom of every independent assessment of quality.
If we were a saner, more rational nation, we'd begin a new health-care debate with a blank piece of paper. Congress and the White House would study successful health-care systems in nations such as Singapore, Switzerland, and France, which are not purely "socialistic" or "free market." Instead, these hybrids mix government-mandated universal coverage and sizable subsidies with consumer choice over doctors and hospitals. No one is left out, but free-market competition drives costs down and improves care. If this is possible elsewhere, why not here? Partisan ideology — and our endless binary debate about the role of government — stands in the way. So does the now-hardened belief that politics is a zero-sum game in which conservative and liberal principles are mutually exclusive, and one side wins only if the other side loses. A saner, more functional nation? I know: It's just too much to ask.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.
-
Leo XIV vs. Trump: what will first American Pope mean for US Catholics?
Today's Big Question New pope has frequently criticised the president, especially on immigration policy, but is more socially conservative than his predecessor
-
What's going on with the Beckhams?
In the Spotlight From wedding tantrums to birthday snubs, rumours of a family rift are becoming harder to hide
-
Quiz of The Week: 3 – 9 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical