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The medical tours of T.R. Reid
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| Journalist T.R. Reid used his own “bum shoulder” for a case study in his travels around the world seeking a better healthcare system. He will speak Nov. 23 at Koelbel Public Library in Centennial. Courtesy photo by Jon Gruner |
By Peter Jones
When T.R. Reid was looking for a good doctor, he didn’t limit himself to the physicians in a preferred-provider handbook.
The Washington Post reporter’s search for better health care had been decades in the making. A longtime foreign correspondent, Reid experienced a broad range of health care systems firsthand during many years of living and working overseas.
Reid, formerly the Post’s bureau chief in London and Tokyo, is now based in south Denver and is head of the newspaper’s Rocky Mountain bureau.
Last year, for the PBS series “Frontline,” Reid produced the documentary “Sick Around the World,” which compared the health care systems in five countries — England, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland.
His investigations led to his recent book, “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Healthcare.” Reid volunteered an old military wound for the book’s case study in comparative health care systems.
As the United States grapples with proposed health care reform, the League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County is presenting a free evening with Reid and a screening of “Sick Around The World” on Nov. 23 at Koelbel Public Library in Centennial.
Colorado Community Newspapers recently asked Reid about his travels around the health care globe.
CCN:Your investigation began with a bum shoulder?
Reid:Well, that’s the way the book works. The truth of the matter is this investigation began because my family has lived overseas and we used those health care systems and we figured out that they were better.
In Japan, we had great care, no waiting and minimal prices. In Britain, there is excellent care, the doctor comes to your house and there’s no bill at all. Most Americans think all health care overseas is big government and socialized medicine and that’s just not true.
It started with this question: How come all the other industrialized democracies manage to cover everybody and still spend half as much as we do? I went to 10 countries to find the answer. And since I have this bum shoulder that I broke in the Navy 30 years ago, I figured I’d take it along with me since I’m going to the doctor anyway.
I was looking for two cures — to get my shoulder better and to see if I could find a prescription for America’s health care system.
CCN: Which is fairing better at this point?
Reid: I came away optimistic on both points. I have less pain and more movement than I had before, and I came away really optimistic that the United States could cover everybody at a reasonable cost. All the other countries do it.
CCN: Then why hasn’t the United States done it?
Reid: The main reason is we’ve never focused on the goal. In my book, I write about how all these other countries got to the point of universal coverage. In every case, it was the same. They first decided on the goal — We want to provide health care to everyone in our country who needs it.
Just like they provide a free public education and put out the fire if your house catches on fire, they decided to set up a mechanism to provide health care for everybody. Once you make that moral commitment, then you can find a mechanism to do it. The United States, for various reasons, has never even had the conversation.
CCN: Aren’t we having the conversation now?
Reid: I would argue that once again we got distracted. Our debate is about the mechanics. It’s been about insurance reimbursement rates, hospital payment schedules and a doctors’ payment system. We keep losing track of the goal. If you look at the bills coming out of Congress, none of them gets to universal coverage.
CCN: Are health care reform and free enterprise incompatible?
Reid: No. The private sector provides health care of high quality for everybody at low cost in many rich countries — Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan. They all cover everybody with private docs, private hospitals and private insurance. We haven’t been able to make it work because we haven’t been able to accept the level of regulation that the insurance systems in other countries have.
Everybody gets to vote no matter how rich or poor you are. There’s another distributional ethic for yachts. Rich people get them and poor people don’t get them. The question is where on that spectrum you put health care. All the other rich countries have decided that health care is a social good — closer to voting than it is to yachting. In the U.S., we have made health care largely an economic commodity.
I don’t think anybody in America sat down and said this is how we want to distribute health care. It came about through a series of incremental decisions. Nobody designed our system. Nobody would design our system. It’s so wasteful and so unfair.
CCN: What country should be the model for the American health care system?
Reid: There are just too many variables, but here’s what I can tell you. In Germany, anybody can pick among 220 insurance companies. If you don’t like your health insurance plan, you can switch on 60 days notice and the next guy can’t raise your rates. No American has that kind of choice.
In Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan and most other countries, you can go to any doctor, any hospital, any lab and insurance has to pay the bill. There’s no in-network. There’s no preauthorization and they can’t deny claims. That’s better coverage and more choice than anybody in America has.
Some countries — Canada, particularly — have long waiting lines. Those horror stories are true. But many countries have shorter waiting times than Americans to have an appointment, to see a specialist or to have surgery.
In terms of cost, I went to a 900-bed hospital in Canada and asked to see the billing office, which is two part-timers who come in the last two days of each month. In an American hospital, there would be more than 100 people.
CCN: Earlier you said you were optimistic. Is meaningful health care reform on the horizon?
Reid: The bills in Washington are tinkering at the margins of an expensive and unfair system. I think they will make it a little better, but they’re not going to get us to the goal of universal coverage at a reasonable cost.
Starting in January, there are going to be bills in state legislatures all over America, including in Colorado, trying to come up with a mechanism to cover everybody. Guess what? Two or three states will find a way to do it. The rest can watch how it works and follow. We will get to universal coverage, but not on a national basis. It’s just too difficult politically.
If you go
The League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County presents an evening with author, T.R. Reid and a screening of “Sick Around The World,” Monday, Nov. 23, 6-8 p.m., at Koelbel Public Library, 5955 S. Holly St. in Centennial.
The event is free, but registration is required. Call 303-542-7279 or register at arapahoelibraries.org.
The Washington Post reporter’s search for better health care had been decades in the making. A longtime foreign correspondent, Reid experienced a broad range of health care systems firsthand during many years of living and working overseas.
Reid, formerly the Post’s bureau chief in London and Tokyo, is now based in south Denver and is head of the newspaper’s Rocky Mountain bureau.
Last year, for the PBS series “Frontline,” Reid produced the documentary “Sick Around the World,” which compared the health care systems in five countries — England, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland.
His investigations led to his recent book, “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Healthcare.” Reid volunteered an old military wound for the book’s case study in comparative health care systems.
As the United States grapples with proposed health care reform, the League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County is presenting a free evening with Reid and a screening of “Sick Around The World” on Nov. 23 at Koelbel Public Library in Centennial.
Colorado Community Newspapers recently asked Reid about his travels around the health care globe.
CCN:Your investigation began with a bum shoulder?
Reid:Well, that’s the way the book works. The truth of the matter is this investigation began because my family has lived overseas and we used those health care systems and we figured out that they were better.
In Japan, we had great care, no waiting and minimal prices. In Britain, there is excellent care, the doctor comes to your house and there’s no bill at all. Most Americans think all health care overseas is big government and socialized medicine and that’s just not true.
It started with this question: How come all the other industrialized democracies manage to cover everybody and still spend half as much as we do? I went to 10 countries to find the answer. And since I have this bum shoulder that I broke in the Navy 30 years ago, I figured I’d take it along with me since I’m going to the doctor anyway.
I was looking for two cures — to get my shoulder better and to see if I could find a prescription for America’s health care system.
CCN: Which is fairing better at this point?
Reid: I came away optimistic on both points. I have less pain and more movement than I had before, and I came away really optimistic that the United States could cover everybody at a reasonable cost. All the other countries do it.
CCN: Then why hasn’t the United States done it?
Reid: The main reason is we’ve never focused on the goal. In my book, I write about how all these other countries got to the point of universal coverage. In every case, it was the same. They first decided on the goal — We want to provide health care to everyone in our country who needs it.
Just like they provide a free public education and put out the fire if your house catches on fire, they decided to set up a mechanism to provide health care for everybody. Once you make that moral commitment, then you can find a mechanism to do it. The United States, for various reasons, has never even had the conversation.
CCN: Aren’t we having the conversation now?
Reid: I would argue that once again we got distracted. Our debate is about the mechanics. It’s been about insurance reimbursement rates, hospital payment schedules and a doctors’ payment system. We keep losing track of the goal. If you look at the bills coming out of Congress, none of them gets to universal coverage.
CCN: Are health care reform and free enterprise incompatible?
Reid: No. The private sector provides health care of high quality for everybody at low cost in many rich countries — Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan. They all cover everybody with private docs, private hospitals and private insurance. We haven’t been able to make it work because we haven’t been able to accept the level of regulation that the insurance systems in other countries have.
Everybody gets to vote no matter how rich or poor you are. There’s another distributional ethic for yachts. Rich people get them and poor people don’t get them. The question is where on that spectrum you put health care. All the other rich countries have decided that health care is a social good — closer to voting than it is to yachting. In the U.S., we have made health care largely an economic commodity.
I don’t think anybody in America sat down and said this is how we want to distribute health care. It came about through a series of incremental decisions. Nobody designed our system. Nobody would design our system. It’s so wasteful and so unfair.
CCN: What country should be the model for the American health care system?
Reid: There are just too many variables, but here’s what I can tell you. In Germany, anybody can pick among 220 insurance companies. If you don’t like your health insurance plan, you can switch on 60 days notice and the next guy can’t raise your rates. No American has that kind of choice.
In Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan and most other countries, you can go to any doctor, any hospital, any lab and insurance has to pay the bill. There’s no in-network. There’s no preauthorization and they can’t deny claims. That’s better coverage and more choice than anybody in America has.
Some countries — Canada, particularly — have long waiting lines. Those horror stories are true. But many countries have shorter waiting times than Americans to have an appointment, to see a specialist or to have surgery.
In terms of cost, I went to a 900-bed hospital in Canada and asked to see the billing office, which is two part-timers who come in the last two days of each month. In an American hospital, there would be more than 100 people.
CCN: Earlier you said you were optimistic. Is meaningful health care reform on the horizon?
Reid: The bills in Washington are tinkering at the margins of an expensive and unfair system. I think they will make it a little better, but they’re not going to get us to the goal of universal coverage at a reasonable cost.
Starting in January, there are going to be bills in state legislatures all over America, including in Colorado, trying to come up with a mechanism to cover everybody. Guess what? Two or three states will find a way to do it. The rest can watch how it works and follow. We will get to universal coverage, but not on a national basis. It’s just too difficult politically.
If you go
The League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County presents an evening with author, T.R. Reid and a screening of “Sick Around The World,” Monday, Nov. 23, 6-8 p.m., at Koelbel Public Library, 5955 S. Holly St. in Centennial.
The event is free, but registration is required. Call 303-542-7279 or register at arapahoelibraries.org.
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