Japan is a quickly aging society, and more than 25% of the population is over 65 years of age. That is not necessarily a bad thing. They are in need of building an aging-people friendly social infrastructure. So they have established a healthcare system in which a "care manager" is overseeing aging people with health issues, working with family members, helpers and daycare facilities. My mother is a beneficiary of the system.
In terms of healthcare system, Japan is taking the national healthcare approach. All citizens are covered and their medical expenses are subsidized through tax and other national revenues. Although there has been an argument that aging population will eventually bankrupt the system, no drastic measure has been taken, and current situation is an unprecedented social experiment.
In fact, I like the fruits of the experiment. At least for now, I do not have to worry about my mother or other relatives go bankrupt by medical expenses.
America is taking different approach of the for-profit healthcare system. There are plenty of horror stories, but we tend to ignore them until we get sick or injured when we are out of insurance or when the coverage is denied.
Obamacare is ideologically aiming at a system similar to those in European countries and Japan. But I am not sure how Obamacare will fare in practice in the US. Anyhow, I will have to keep an eye on my own insurance situation.
Contemporary nations have to provide many functions such as military, healthcare, infrastructure maintenance, and education. The functions are mostly performed by the government and the costs are covered by taxation and other revenues. For-profit private companies don't have these as primary functions. To my eyes, libertarian, religious, and some right-wing Republican ideologies fall short in taking care of the citizens. They function like a club for elite, and provide little benefit for the people outside of the club.
American system is deeply affected by capitalism. Although capitalism-minded people claim national health care is socialism or even try to brand it as communism, the other end of capitalism is a Dickensian world with few rich and a majority of the poor.
Personally I prefer a society that provides more basic protection than the US currently does. But the US is a mixture of so many societies, claims and ideologies, and it is easy to think in the us-or-them manner. It will be bound to be difficult. It is another social experiment.
Thinking about insurance led me to think about a person's value. A branch of capitalism and economy is specialized to evaluate something that is hard to evaluate, such as cost of Mona Lisa or price of an 8-years old boy's life.
....this issue is a little larger than what I want to take on with my jet-lag influenced mind. I'll do some research later.
I'm back in the US and I've got to do what I can. I like being a scientist, because it is easy for me to find a meaning in what I do.
I attended a nice Salsa party yesterday, and slept well today. It should help to get rid of the jet lag.
