SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD IN THE USA!

Mr. Reid classifies health care systems into four categories and clearly explains how they work. He discusses important concepts that are missing from the US healthcare debate. We need to decide what we want to accomplish before deciding on the details of implementation. He explains that not all foreign systems are "socialized" (unlike the VA and Medicare) and that other countries have better outcomes in spite of spending less on healthcare than we do. He explains that the health care payment system (insurance) is not the health care provider system (doctors, nurses, etc.).

I am heartened by the fact that industrial countries have better and cheaper health care by most measures than we do in the USA because this means our system can be improved. I am disheartened because we do not have an honest, logical discussion of the pros and cons of various choices available.