Healthcare of Many Lands

Good article over at Common Dreams by T. R. Reid about how health care works around the world; turns out the rest of the world isn't a medical wilderness, nor are they run by draconian monsters. Rather it seems like there are a variety of plans, each of which has certain benefits and drawbacks.

Some countries, such as Britain, New Zealand and Cuba, do provide health care in government hospitals, with the government paying the bills. Others -- for instance, Canada and Taiwan -- rely on private-sector providers, paid for by government-run insurance. But many wealthy countries -- including Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland -- provide universal coverage using private doctors, private hospitals and private insurance plans.

Hmmmmmm. Kind of eye opening, although I'm sure there are plenty of unsubstantiated horror stories out there too.