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In addition to Masschusetts, the State of Maine also has a form of universal health care; premiums are based on ability to pay and recently Maine, which is one of the poorer states if measured by per capita income, was listed (#7) among the top ten states for health care. In fact, the New England states occupy half the positions in the top ten. One reason for Maine's rating was its very low number of uninsured people (9%). In some of our southern states, the number of uninsured is as high as 45%. And New York, my other home state, was 29 in the rankings, which is pathetic considering its wealth compared to Maine. The number everywhere should, of course, be zero but we're getting there, in Maine at least.
I agree, of the EU countries, England is near the bottom in quality of health care. France has an excellent system, as does Italy, and from what you write, I assume Germany does as well. And after reading posts from Ireland, it also seems to have good care While I was still fighting to get herceptin in New York State, herceptin had already been approved for early stage breast cancer in Italy. I was set to leave for Italy when my oncologist managed to get it approved for me in New York, mainly because I had just become eligible for Medicare, which is our form of universal health care. And I celebrate Medicare every day, as my care as been excellent and at very low cost.
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