Obamacare

"Let's talk about health care around the advanced world. Every wealthy country other than the United States guarantees essential care to all its citizens. There are, however, wide variations in the specifics, with three main approaches taken. (...) In Britain, the government itself runs the hospitals and employs the doctors. (...) Like every system, the National Health Service has problems, but over all it appears to provide good care while spending only 40 percent as much per person as America does. (...) The second route to universal coverage leaves the actual delivery of health care to private hands, but the government pays most of the bills. That's how Canada and, in a more complex fashion, France do it (...) Finally, the third route to universal coverage relies on private insurance companies, using a combination of regulation and subsidies to ensure that everyone is covered. Switzerland offers the clearest example: Everyone is required to buy insurance, insurers can't discriminate based on medical history or pre-existing conditions, and lower income citizens get government help in paying for their policies. (...) So where does Obamacare fit into all this? Basically, it's a plan to Swissify America.", Paul Krugman, International Herald Tribune de hoje.

Entre os países citados no artigo de Paul Krugman, a percentagem do PIB que cada um gasta na Saúde é a seguinte:

Reino Unido: 8,2%

Canadá: 9,7%

França: 11,1%

Suíça: 11,4%

EUA: 15,9%

(fonte: The Economist)