Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Many studies have found that patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES) have worse access to care. For instance, patients from lower SES have longer wait times (see review papers Landi et al. 2018 and Siciliani 2016). One key question is whether these disparities depend on how socioeconomic status is measured: at the individual level or…
One of the key benefits of the UK health system is that everyone has access to care. However, is care provided equally to all people? A paper by Matias et al. (2024) examines whether or not there are any inequalities in waiting times by socioeconomic status for women diagnosed with breast cancer in England and…
In countries that have universal health insurance, but limited patient out-of-pocket costs for public hospital services, non-urgent hospital treatment often has a waiting list in public hospitals. To address this issue, some countries (e.g., UK, Canada) use strategies such as setting maximum wait targets, monitoring provider performance, or adding public funding; other countries (e.g., Australia,…
How long does it take to get treated for cancer in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS)? How long does it take for ambulances to arrive? What about wait times at ED visits? An article in The Independent answers these questions with statistics from NHS itself. The answer to the above questions, about 1…
Being sick in the United Kingdom has advantages and disadvantages. Supporters will cite that out-of-pocket costs are generally low, coverage is universal, and the price of health care to the government is lower. One question is, what is the quality of care received? Critics cite that access to cutting edge, innovative treatments is often restricted or…
The VA scandal of long wait times is now well-known. Part of the reason why patients were left off official wait lists–ironically–was because VA senior staffers wanted to reduce wait times. Senior VA staff monitored wait times closely to check for any upticks. Some of the VA management at the Phoenix hospital believed the only…
…and three other questions about physician care. Do Medicare patients have shorter waiting times than those with commercial insurance? In the 2010 survey, among those seeking an appointment, most beneficiaries (75 percent) and most privately insured individuals (72 percent) reported “never” having to wait longer than they wanted for an appointment for routine care. Another…
In the 1990s, the UK’s National Health Service may have imitated most American’s idea of what is wrong with a single payer system. However, when Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997 government spending on the NHS increased. Over the past decade spending on the health service has risen by over 6% a year in…
One of the most contentious parts of the healthcare debate in the U.S. is whether or not to move towards a more European style of health care. Those in favor cite the equality of the system, the lower cost, and lower administrative cost. Those against rail against the lack of provider choice and the long…
From the USA Today, here are the wait times to see a doctor in the following cities: Boston: 49.6 Philadelphia: 27 Los Angeles: 24.2 Houston: 23.4 Washington, D.C.: 22.6 San Diego 20.2 Minneapolis: 19.8 Dallas: 19.2 New York: 19.2 Denver: 15.4 days Miami: 15.4 days The first thing that jumps out from these numbers is that…