The PBS Frontline Documentary 'Sick Around The World'

Alice Chen
CPO 3103
Assignment 11

The PBS Frontline documentary "Sick Around the World", analyzes the healthcare systems of five modern democracies. The film examines how the provision of healthcare varies across democratic nations. According to the Frontline documentary, "Approximately 47 million people do not have healthcare coverage although the U.S. has one of the most expensive healthcare systems worldwide (Reid, 2008)." Washington Post news correspondent T. R. Reid travels to the UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland to investigate the healthcare systems in these countries. Two surprising facts discussed in the film is the cost of medical care in Japan and the way British citizens pay their medical bills. When T. R. Reid travels

to Japan, he explains to viewers that, "Japan has better national health coverage, everyone is insured, and the Japanese spend about half as much on healthcare as the U.S. (Reid, 2008)". "The cost for an MRI scan in Japan is approximately $98 dollars, whereas the cost for an MRI in the U.S. is roughly $1200 dollars (Reid, 2008)". "In the UK, citizens will never receive a bill for health care because the National Health Service pays the bill (Reid, 2008)".
The system that seems to work best is the healthcare system in Japan.

The Japanese have some of the best health statistics in the world and one of the lowest infant mortality rates among the countries in the PBS documentary. According to the article "The Paradox of US Healthcare" by Andrew Kennis, "The overall ranking of worldwide healthcare systems based on infant mortality rates, Japan is in fourth place behind Sweden (Kennis, 2009)." "Another positive feature is the regulations prohibiting the healthcare industry from making a profit on basic healthcare (Reid, 2008)." "The Japanese government negotiates with healthcare providers every two years to determine a fixed price for all medical services and or procedures (Reid, 2008)". Providers are not permitted to deviate from prices set the price book. "All Japanese citizens will pay a standard price for a particular service regardless of where they receive the service (Reid, 2008)." Private interests have less influence over the costs associated with the healthcare industry in Japan. Wendell Potter an advocate for U.S. healthcare reform explains that, "In Japan the lobbying strength of special interests is much weaker when compared to the strength of interest groups and lobbyists in the U.S. (Kennis, 2009)." Despite all the positive characteristics of the Japanese healthcare system, there are negative aspects as well. In the Washington Post article "Japan's Health-Care System Has Many Advantages, but May Not Be

Sustainable", the negative effects of low prices on the healthcare industry in Japan is illustrated. The author of this article Blaine Harden wrote,
"There are shortages of obstetricians, anesthesiologists and emergency room specialists because of relatively low pay, long hours and high stress at many hospitals, doctors and health-care analysts said. Emergency room service is often spotty, as ER beds in many hospitals are limited and diagnostic expertise is sometimes lacking (Harden, 2009)."

"Japanese hospitals are in danger of going broke because of government imposed price regulations (Reid, 2008)". Japanese doctors receive relatively lower pay working in hospitals compared to doctors who work in private clinics. Price controls limit what doctors and hospitals can charge thereby creating an affordable benefit for Japanese patients. However, the trade-off for affordable care has caused a heavy financial burden on doctors and hospitals. According to Dr. Saito Hidero, "Fifty percent of the hospitals in Japan are operating under a financial deficit (Reid, 2008)".
Between the five healthcare systems showcased in the PBS documentary, the one in Switzerland has the best chance to translate into a viable system in U.S. politics. The Swiss had a similar system to the U.S. before healthcare reforms were passed in 1994. "A transition to a healthcare system like the one in Switzerland allows insurance providers to generate profits by selling supplemental insurance policies (Reid, 2008)." This would help to lessen any political opposition from interest groups and lobbyists in the healthcare industry. Citizens in America pay more for healthcare but they receive less healthcare benefits compared to other industrial democratic nations. "Healthcare reforms in Switzerland helped change public perceptions and renewed public confidence when their government when they implemented healthcare reforms (Reid, 2008)." If Americans were able to have equal access to high quality universal health coverage, this would help to restore the public faith in government here as well.

Works Cited

Harden, Blaine, and Akiko Yamamoto.

"Japan's Health-Care System Has Many Advantages, but May Not Be Sustainable." The Washington Post.com: World News. September 7, 2009. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/06/AR2009090601630.html

Kennis, Andrew. "The Paradox of US Healthcare." Al Jazeera English. November 7, 2009. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/2009/10/2009103164332709367.html

Reid, T.R. "Watch Now: FRONTLINE | Sick Around the World | PBS Video." PBS Video. April 15, 2008. Accessed November 10, 2014.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1050712790/.