Source: Flaticon user Scrip
Dr. Sean Masaki Flynn makes a great case for the United States adopting the same system as the system used in Singapore. He first explains why some of the glaring flaws of the American healthcare system exist and continue to persist. Then, Dr. Flynn explains how the Singaporean system works, why it works so well, and how easy it would be to implement in the United States. His compelling talk on healthcare gives the impression that there really no downside to switching to a system that is either identical to or very similar to that of the healthcare system in Singapore. All that said, I feel it is worth noting that there are a multitude of other system would work better than the United States current healthcare system, simply due to how poor the current system is. When comparing the United States to countries across the globe and evaluating metrics such as per capital GDP against the average life expectancy, America is an undeniable anomaly and there is one significant reason for this anomaly which is the healthcare system.
To begin with, the current healthcare system in America is greatly flawed. It is heavily regulated and restricted by the government, which prevents natural competition from developing. As Dr. Flynn discusses, the current heavily regulated system is a result of trying to draw in workers at a low cost benefit to the company during the second world war, however it was so beneficial to the companies that it didn’t fall out of favor. He then explains that, in 1952 due to a tax deal with the government, “if your employer pays the premium on your health insurance, they can deduct it…”, which heavily incentivizes them to provide you with healthcare. This locked into place third party payments because the tax incentive gives the company a better mileage for their dollar than if they were to pay you the same amount they spend on your healthcare. One reason that this is such a major problem is because it means if you suddenly find yourself unemployed, you no longer have access to healthcare at a reasonable price. This inability for individuals to seek out their own doctors and own healthcare plans has resulted in increasingly high prices which only makes it worse for those who find themselves uncovered.
On the other hand, private healthcare systems which aren’t afflicted with the same system as is present in America are able to provide the same treatments at a lower price. They don’t have to deal with the same insurance policies and red tape and citizens are free to seek out the doctors they want at a far more reasonable price. In Singapore specifically, the fully decentralized system means that you simply shop for your doctor and the intense competition drives prices down and encourages doctors to perform as best as they possibly can. As is the case with every other industry not hampered by bureaucracy and excessive regulation, natural competition pushes the best to the top and the worst to the bottom. Dr. Flynn notes early into his lecture that the United States spends around 18% GDP on healthcare, while Singapore spends around 4.2% as of 2020 when he gave the lecture. This massive difference in spending coupled with the strikingly better quality of medical care provided in Singapore is a big reason to push for doing away with the current system and preferably adopting a system similar to that of Singapore.
For the United States to have such poor healthcare from a global perspective is disgraceful. Despite being overall one of, if not the most, powerful countries in the world our healthcare is abysmal. Even when you exclude Singapore and instead look to some other countries for % GDP spending on healthcare, the difference is still roughly 4% at the very minimum. Further, despite our public spending being comparable to most other developed countries, our private and out-of-pocket spending is far higher than most according to data from OECD health statistics in 2019. Another mark against the current system is the average life expectancy of Americans, which is roughly 3-4 years lower than other OECD member countries. It is simply unimaginable that the current system is the best we are capable of, especially given the United States having one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world as the 12th highest country according to data from The World Bank, while Singapore is 11th. Given all this information, there is no reason why the healthcare system in the United States should remain in the current state it is in. An overhaul is needed, both to improve the medical care provided to Americans and to revitalize the medical profession in the country.
