Lives at Risk: Single-Payer National Health Insurance Around the World

Virtually everyone agrees that our health care system needs reform. But what kind of reform Some want a return to the system that prevailed in the 1950s. Others would like to see the adaptation of the government-run systems prevalent in other countries. The latter, national health insurance or single-payer health insurance, appears to be gaining ground in the United States. Before Americans find themselves participating in a health care system that has failed in every country it was adopted, we should be asking ourselves whether such a system is effective and efficient.

In Lives at Risk, the authors examine the critical failures of national health insurance systems without focusing on minor blemishes or easily correctable problems. In doing so, the purpose is to identify the problems common to all countries with national health insurance and to explain why these problems emerge. Most national health care systems are in a state of sustained internal crisis as costs rise and the stated goals of universal access and quality care are not met. In almost all cases, the reason is the same: the politics of medicine. The problems of government-run health care systems flow inexorably from the fact that they are government-run rather than market driven.

John C. Goodman is the founder and president of the National Center for Policy Analysis. The Wall Street Journal called Dr. Goodman 'the father of Medical Savings Accounts,' and National Journal declared him 'winner of the devolution derby' because his ideas on ways to transfer power from government to the people have had a significant impact on Capitol Hill. He is the author of seven books. Gerald L. Musgrave is president of Economics America, Inc., a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, and a fellow at the National Association of Business Economists and chairman of its Health Economics Roundtable. Dr. Musgrave has written widely on health care and other issues and is the author or co-author of more than 60 publications. Devon M. Herrick is senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis.