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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
So how do you cut costs without cutting benefits? Something has to give somewhere. To reiterate for will, I don't think that the system is better here in the US vs. Iceland, and since Iceland is a socialized healthcare system, and was voted #1 place to live by the UN this week, I see even more interest in looking closer at a small socialized system that supports only 300,000 people and see that it still is expensive.
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I don't know how much moiney beyond the amounts described in your article are spent by the gov of Iceland on annual healthcare, but the amonts mentioned are well under $600 million, US, or less than $2000 per resident.
They are hampered by a lack of an economy of scale, and most medical supplies and equipment are likely imported. In contrast, if you've looked at the furnishings and equipment in the US medical clinics and hospitals, surprisingly, it is almost all US made, as well as the drugs. Even with that advantage, medical treatment is one of the most dramatically rising services in the US.
They also have a corporatist conservative PM who saw some of his center-right coalition voted out of office last spring.
Isn't it in his interest to paint the state medical care operations and benefit as something that is responsible for it's own increased spending because it is not as efficient as it could be, and therefore, his government, with increased industrialization facing opposition, cannot fully fund medical care without unrestricted growth?
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http://www.reuters.com/article/world...BrandChannel=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/world...BrandChannel=0
......The Independence-Progressive coalition had wanted aluminum giants such as Alcoa to keep building smelters powered by Iceland's abundant geothermal and hydroelectric resources, a trend that has driven rapid economic growth in recent years.
But the Social Democrats and Left Greens called for a pause until the environmental and economic impact of the latest projects became clear.
A growing number of Icelanders have expressed concern about dams on the country's rivers to power the smelters and record-high borrowing costs in a fast-growing economy.
Gisladottir said after her meeting with Haarde that they had not discussed detailed policies or the sharing of ministries.
Independence walked away from Saturday's vote with 25 seats, a gain of three, while the Progressives kept just seven of 12.
This left the government with the 32 seats needed for a majority in the 63-seat parliament but Sigurdsson, who lost his own seat, suggested on Sunday he would heed voters and leave.
Gisladottir, who wants Iceland to join the European Union, wants the poorest to share in the country's prosperity.
Haarde, a proponent of corporate tax cuts and a staunch opponent of EU membership, has said the most important goal for Iceland is to spur economic growth.
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