National Public Radio Considers Health Care in the U.K.

As a sort of piggyback to Jen’s post regarding drug cost-effectiveness in the U.K. and other countries as compared to the U.S., I thought I’d post about a series that National Public Radio (NPR) is doing called “Health Care for All”. The series is looking at health care in the U.S. and comparing it to the systems in Western Europe, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K.

Health care coverage in the U.S. is described in the series as dependent upon “how much is in your bank account” or “your employer”, while the U.K. coverage is “a system of rationing” (offered via the National Health Service) as alluded to in Jen’s recent post. Two stories looking at health care in the U.S. vs. the U.K. can be found here. The first story is about two adults diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how their care has differed. I’m sure you can guess who made out better financially, and likely physically and emotionally, in the end.

The second story presented is about the decisions Britain’s National Health Service makes regarding whether to cover potentially life-saving drugs, many of which it does not to keep costs down and to keep everyone covered. This story certainly highlights one of the downfalls of health care for all