Indian Reservations Have Always Had a Single-Payer System
Half the population over 40 on Pine Ridge has diabetes, and tuberculosis runs at eight times the national rate. As many as two-thirds of adults may be alcoholics, one-quarter of children are born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and the life expectancy is somewhere around the high 40s — shorter than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. Less than 10 percent of children graduate from high school.
Editorial by Nicholas D. Kristof in the NYT.
Wow…this is pretty shocking stuff.
Scary!
If you want to see what socialism is like — government health care, communal ownership of land — go to an Indian reservation.
@Joe — good point! Centralized planning has a very poor track record, nowhere more evident than in native reservations.
Somewhat related Ggod editorial on single payer in Canada from the Doctor’s perspective: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/touch/health/story.html?id=6639731&fwcc=1&fwcl=1&fwl
That sounds more depressed than many areas in Mexico.
Admittedly there are a lot of factors that are causing these issues, but losing one’s culture is probably at the core.