How do they do it?

Have you ever wondered how it is that Germany can have a better (really!) healthcare system than the United States and still manage to spend half of what we do per person? This fascinating story at NPR will tell you. By "better" I don't mean that they have superior physicians. We have the best medical schools in the world, excellent doctors, excellent nurses and other healthcare providers, and we have wonderful hospitals and equipment etc. Germany has all of that as well, but the difference is that it is available to everyone. (We could argue about which medical schools are better; I've heard that the U.S. ones are, both from American and German doctors/medical students, but I'm sure there are those who would disagree. I have no personal knowledge about that.)

NPR is doing a series comparing medical systems in Europe and the U.S. There's even a link so that you can check individual costs across countries (Check out the interactive graphic!)

This is the year when we all need to be thinking about how healthcare in the U.S. can be improved, made more cost-effective and efficient, and how it can be made available to EVERYONE. Yep, I said it. I'm a crazy liberal, who thinks that all of God's children (and everyone else's children) should have access to good health and dental care. While we're at it, I also think they should have access to decent food, safe neighborhoods and good schools.

So let's get hoppin' ...