I’m sure Craig Paulson is very informed, but there seems to be quite a few disconnects in his opinion piece (“Single-payer health care is not the answer,” Sept. 22).
Among the three largest countries in the world (Germany, France and the U.S.) Germany has 8.2 hospitals per 1,000 population, France has 6.2 and the United States has 2.9 per person.
Among the category of primary care doctors per 1,000 people, Germany is first at 4.1 per doctor, France is 3.1 per doctor, the UK is 2.8 per doctor and the U.S. is 2.6 per doctor.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. spends one and a half times more than any other country (all using single payer health care) and is ranked last in quality. WHO has similar results.
If single payer health care systems are less costly (by a big margin), offer more doctors per person, more hospitals per person and are ranked well above the U.S. in health care, it’s a cognitive stretch to call single payer health care systems more expensive, less effective.
I would prefer that Paulson do the research I have done and leave his opinions and politics behind unless they support, or are consistent with, what major research organizations offer.
Steven Wall
Holladay