But the real test of any healthcare system is whether it delivers timely, effective care. And in their latest installments in the American Action Forum’s “Reality Check-Up: The Truth About Single-Payer Systems,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Michael Baker investigate that question in two key areas: pediatrics and cancer.
Holtz-Eakin dives into a Newsweek ranking of the top 250 pediatric hospitals in the world and discovers that American hospitals stand out.
Of the world’s top pediatric hospitals, the United States claims 28 percent – more than a quarter. Even among the top 10 hospitals, one-half belong to the United States, and no other country claims more than one. Finally, the median rank (within the 250) of a U.S. hospital is 72, the best performance of any country with a large number of children’s hospitals.
The numbers speak loud and clear. In a market-oriented system such as America’s, supply and demand help determine the number of doctors and hospitals available to treat children. In single-payer systems, bureaucrats determine how much care they’re willing to pay for. Shortages and long waiting lists that harmful to one’s health are the result, as demand for “free” care necessarily outstrips supply.
Baker explains how single-payer systems leave cancer patients waiting for critical care.
Consider that the United Kingdom’s National Health Service had a 30% shortage of radiologists in 2023. Many patients wait more than two months between their initial cancer diagnosis and the start of treatment.
Getting an appointment isn’t enough. Thanks to market distortions, many single-payer systems lack access to cutting-edge cancer treatments.
Research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that from 2017 to 2021 the United States launched 83 new cancer active substances compared to 58 in Europe and the UK. A team of global health researchers also found that of the total number of cancer drugs globally launched between the years of 1990 and 2022, European countries only launched 10.5 percent of therapies, or 58 drugs. In comparison, the United States launched 257 cancer drugs, making up nearly half (45 percent) of globally launched therapies.
Children and cancer patients are among every country’s most vulnerable. America’s leaders would do well to keep these people in mind when thinking about giving government more control over our healthcare system.
Read the pieces by Holtz-Eakin and Baker here: Quality Care in Perspective: Children’s Hospitals and The Dangers of Single-Payer Systems for Cancer Patients.
