Man I wish I'd known about Ben Meren's 5:00 show yesterday ( http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=bme )a half an hour earlier whan our insurance guy was here with yet again higher rates, deductibles, and co-pays, talkin HSA's and bemoaning our turn to socialism (yeah right). I am fortunate to still have coverage, for now.
Ben's show was an hour long uninterrupted interview with the documentarian who produced to Sick Around America ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/ ) which will air tonight at at 8:00 of channel 10 Milwaukee Public Television. This is a follow-up to last years Sick Around the World which showed how Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, Germany and the U.K. all get much better healthcare, health outcomes and cover all of their citizens at much less cost than in the U.S.
Some of these courties use private insurance, some public, some a combination. All of them have better systems that the the U.S. hands down. In fact the U.N. ranks the U.S. 36 in terms of healthcare. WE'RE 36! WE'RE 36! WE'RE 36!
Of course our health insurance sales man had not seen the show and proceeded to repeat the rightwing radio BS about invadin canadians marauding for health care south o the border.
The horror stories on the Sick Around America show were bad enough, but then our fellow Wisconsinites called in with theirs tales of woe that could happen to anyone of us, no matter what job you have, no matter how solid you think your coverage is.
Our health care system is broken. If we fixed it, business owners who are staffing with part timers could afford to hire people who want full time to work full time. And that would go a long way to supporting family values and the dignity of work and help create an environment where wages are more in line with the cost of living.
Channel 10 tonight at 8:00 or Channel 11 CPTV at 9:00. Open your eyes and be informed.
