Good - - Fast - - Cheap
Pick any two.
I first saw this sign in a
contractor’s office a dozen years ago.
Today I’m going to offer some perspective on what that means in the
healthcare world.
My reference here is an article in
the 1/15/18 issue of Bloomberg Business Week entitled “Britain’s unavoidable
Health-Care Choice”. This article
basically repeats the above postulate: Britain’s health care system is
relatively high quality, and relatively cheap – but it ain’t fast. People die in line for health care.
The U.S. - on the other hand –
offers very high quality healthcare, and quickly. But it ain’t cheap!
“Many
years of meager funding are taking their toll.
The U.K. has fewer doctors, CT scanners, and MRI units per capita than
most European Union countries, and it ranks toward the bottom of the league on
infant mortality.” (citation above)
So Britain’s dilemma here is
whether to raise the cost in order to speed up the delivery.
You can seldom have it all. If you want good and cheap – it will take a
long time. If you want it good and fast
– it will cost you! If you want it fast
and cheap – it will be poor quality.
Universal healthcare in Britain is
only universal if you have time to wait in line.
How does Bernie propose to solve
this issue?
