In the US, Some Health Care Waiting Times are Infinite

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2011/05/in-the-us-health-care-waiting-times-are-infinite-for-some.html

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Quick thought: I've come across a couple of discussions of the waiting time objection to health care reform, an objection that has been debunked many times but stubbornly persists.

But are these fair comparisons? I don't think they are. We are comparing systems with universal care to our own where some people cannot get the health care they need and desire no matter what they do. Thus, for some people in the US, and for some medical procedures, wait times are essentially infinite. Some people will not be able to afford the care they need, period, and if it isn't life-threatening or severely debilitating, then emergency care or other similar alternatives funded through social services won't be available either.

If we add in these infinite wait times to our system, how does it stack up then?


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