January 29, 2020

How Taiwan got Medicare-for-All

30 minutes

In the early 1990s, the government of Taiwan decided to try an experiment. In just nine months, they completely revolutionized their health care system, covering every Taiwanese citizen through a single-payer program. It’s a system that looks very similar to the Medicare-for-all proposals from presidential candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Vox health care reporter Dylan Scott went to Taiwan to investigate how its single-payer system is working and what the United States can learn from it. He interviewed patients, doctors, government officials, and a researcher with a charming love story. Dylan learned that while the people of Taiwan love their version of Medicare-for-all — a program that has significantly improved Taiwan’s health outcomes — the entire system could go bankrupt, soon.

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Further listening and reading:

Dylan's deep dive on Taiwan's health care system

Uwe Reinhardt’s last book, Priced Out: The Economic and Ethical Costs of American Healthcare

Tsung-Mei (May) Cheng wrote a Wall Street Journal opinion piece making the case for a public option

Dylan’s piece on the three kinds of health care plan floated by the Democratic candidates

Vox’s guide to where 2020 candidates stand on policy

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Host:

Jillian Weinberger, @jbweinz

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.