On the east coast of Taiwan, the place a small valley meets sharp, inexperienced mountains, lies the township of Xiulin. It has a couple of slim
On the east coast of Taiwan, the place a small valley meets sharp, inexperienced mountains, lies the township of Xiulin. It has a couple of slim streets. Many homes have corrugated roofs and siding.
On this township is a clinic, a constructing a few tales tall with physicians’ places of work, X-ray services, and a small workplace for dental care.
Dr. Huei-wen Tien works there. She’s a brief lady in her late 50s. Her hair has gone white so she’s dyed it brilliant pink, and he or she wears an all-black outfit with black ankle boots. Her bike helmet has the phrase “PUNK” written on the aspect, and he or she rides her moped to go to her sufferers.
Right this moment, her journeys take her just some minutes into the township, however some days, she drives hours up into the mountains to deal with sufferers residing in very distant areas.
In a single home, she visits a stroke affected person. She checks his blood sugar ranges and talks him by some medicines.
For the affected person, all of this care is free.
Taiwan has a program that appears quite a bit just like the Medicare-for-all proposal being floated by presidential candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. It’s known as National Health Insurance, and it covers each single particular person within the nation.
The Impact is Vox’s podcast about how coverage shapes peoples lives. On this episode, Vox coverage reporter Dylan Scott walks us by how Taiwan constructed their single-payer system and what the US can be taught from this system. Dylan Scott went to Taiwan with The Impression’s Byrd Pinkerton. They interviewed sufferers, docs, authorities officers, and a researcher with an enthralling love story.
Hearken to this episode to listen to what they found:
Dylan learned that the folks of Taiwan love their common well being care program that has considerably improved Taiwan’s well being outcomes.
However he additionally discovered that your complete system may go bankrupt — and shortly — if the nation doesn’t make dramatic adjustments.
Additional listening and studying:
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