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Obamacare Isn't 'Socialist Hellhole,' It's Switzerland

Krugman: White House plan not all that radical

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 17, 2009 7:34 AM CDT

(Newser) – Investor's Business Daily made a howler when it said the British physicist Stephen Hawking "wouldn't have a chance" under the UK's health care, but for Paul Krugman, the "vile and stupid" editorial missed the point. Obamacare doesn't look like the British system, in which government runs hospitals and pays doctors. Rather, it resembles the Swiss model, using regulation and subsidies for private companies to make sure everyone has coverage.

The health service in Switzerland—"not a socialist hellhole the last time I looked," Krugman writes—has already been tried in Massachusetts with some success. The New York Times columnist would rather see a true public option to compete with private insurers, which will keep costs down. But Swiss-style universal coverage is doable, and "a vast improvement on what we have now."

[Images (3)]

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James Newman protests the health care reform plan supported by President Barack Obama during a rally Saturday Aug. 15, 2009 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

President Barack Obama speaks about health care reform during a town hall meeting in Belgrade, Mont., Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Swiss doctors at a hospital at the University of Geneva. The current plans for American health care reform closely resemble the Swiss system. (AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)

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We can do this. At this point, all that stands in the way of universal health care in America are the greed of the medical-industrial complex, the lies of the right-wing propaganda machine, and the gullibility of voters who believe those lies. -

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 21 comments

AdaptAndOvercome

Aug 18, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

If I hear one more person invoke God-The Constitution--and Taxes when it comes to health care, "I'm going to scream!" If they so believed in God's word and lived by the gospel. They would be all over this Univeral Health because it does what the bible says, "help those who can not do for themselves." The Constitution? There's nothing about medical care in the constitution, back then they boiled herbs in a rag, gave you alcoholic tonics to cure you...actually at the rate our medical coverage is getting, the Republicans are managing quite well to get us back to that point because that's all people can afford. And NOT ONE DEMOCRAT has said anything about raising taxes to pay for this, scare tactics and uninformed morons who believe it are quick to make irrational comments. Americans need to get informed before the get outraged (phony or not)

cognitivefilter

Aug 18, 2009 5:49 AM CDT

switzerland rules, we all know why, all of the international banks are based there, hmm...

Corona_Kinq

Aug 17, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Until people turn off their 24-hour "news" networks and do some actual research, they'll never understand what health reform is about. It's much easier to sit on their couch and listen to Glenn Beck cry.

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health care • United Kingdom • Switzerland • universal health care • National Health Service • health care reform • Paul Krugman

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Obamacare Isn't 'Socialist Hellhole,' It's Switzerland