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Business Daily: Fixing America's healthcare system

12/08/2009

Fixing America's healthcare system

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Fixing America's healthcare system

Can President Barack Obama successfully overhaul America's troubled health-care system?

Business Daily debates ways of fixing America's broken healthcare system with Dr Kevin Schulman, from Duke University and Michael Tanner, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.

It's clearly crunch time in the great debate in America over health-care.  The issue is right at the top of President Barack Obama's agenda, but he is running into stiff opposition. An echo of the troubles experienced by the Democrat in the White House.

The whole thing is now generating an awful lot of heat.  Right across America, there are what are called Town Hall Meetings - public debates - but, it has to be said, the debating often seems to be scant.  They are degenerating into shouting matches. 

One in Tampa in Florida turned into raw confrontation, with those who failed to get into the meeting turning on a politician and shouting "Hear Our Voice" and "You Work for us."

Business Daily debates ways of fixing America's broken healthcare system with Dr Kevin Schulman, from Duke University and Michael Tanner, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.

The current system leaves nearly one in six Americans uncovered, although they can treatment through emergency rooms in hospitals and through government programmes like Medicare and Medicaid. However this only covers illnesses when they become obvious.

Business Daily finds out how the system works on the ground, with a special report from the BBC's Jane O'Brien in Maryland.

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