Healthcare reform: dead on arrival?

Um, the author of the article is an American national from Chicago, Merrill Goozner, who works for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. He's hardly a "stranger" to US affairs, and his article signals his worry that the health reforms voted for in the election mght not happen.

As for the rest of the developed world - we all, without exception have socialised health care systems, because it keeps the costs down. The UK for instance manages to cover the entire population's heath, spending just 7.5% of GDP - the USA spends 16% of GDP, and still leaves about 40 million without cover.

Part of the reason the UK keeps costs down is that the government bargains with pharma companies when buying drugs - they negotiate a discount for buying in bulk. American states don't negotiate drug prices at all, which is odd (all normal capitalist businesses negotiate discounts when bulk-buying) - but the USA has set up a sort of welfare for pharma companies where they get whatever they demand, and damn standard practice!

The new American government is going to have to work hard to break such destructive practices.