In a tribute to the late Uwe Reinhardt, his wife, Princeton University Health Policy Research Analyst Tsung-Mei Cheng, in a blog post published on Health Affairs looks at the sharp contrast between the health care systems of the U.S. and Taiwan.
Reinhardt recommended the Taiwanese government to move to a single-payer system in 1989, she writes, and he did so on three key considerations:
- A single-payer system is effective at controlling costs;
- Such a system is equitable; and
- The system offers a less-complicated administrative burden and is easier for the public to understand.
“As long as financing and payment were within the purview of government, a mixed delivery system of private and public providers could work well within a single-payer framework,” Cheng writes. “Taiwan’s experience has shown this to indeed be the case.”
To read the full blog post on Health Affairs, click here.
