Why no universal health in U.S.?
Author to survey other care systems
T.R. Reid has an idea for a bumper sticker: “If France can do it, the U.S. can do it.”
The “it” in question is universal health care, and why it exists in countries like France and not the U.S. is the premise of a talk he is giving at the University of New Mexico today.
“All countries in the world that are like us (economically) provide health care for their citizens, but they spend half as much as we do,” said Reid, an American journalist. “Eventually, things are going to change when people realize how cruel we are.”
Reid said he became interested in the health care systems of other countries when he was working as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post. Stationed in Japan when his son broke his clavicle skateboard- ing, Reid said he was at first nervous to seek health care for his family from a clinic outside the United States.
“But then we saw that the care was just as good, and the fees were minute,” said Reid.
He explored the subject further in his 2010 book “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care,” published by Penguin Books, in which he compared the American health care system to countries like France, Germany and Japan. The book was adapted into a documentary for PBS Frontline.
Reid said the hope for universal health care in America comes down to one thing: the political will of the people here to make it happen. He predicted the Democrats will nominate a presidential candidate in 2020 with a platform that includes universal health care, “something similar to ‘Medicaid for all,’” he said.
His lecture is hosted by the Albuquerque International Association and will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at UNM’s Continuing Education Conference Center. Tickets are free for students, $15 for association members and $25 for the general public.
More information is available at www.abqinternational.org.