Welcome to Fraser Insight
A quarterly Fraser Institute review of public policy in America

The feature topic of this issue is health care, the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s ambitious domestic agenda. The In Context section includes a discussion about health care in the US with Brett Skinner, director of bio-pharma, health, and insurance policy at the Fraser Institute. His new book, Canadian Health Policy Failures, offers a cautionary tale for Americans.

Our In Focus section features books and reports on various aspects of the health care debate, including publications exploring the dubious link between bankruptcy and a lack of government-run health care, drug approval delays, and problems with Canada’s health care system. Many more health-related reports can be found on this information-packed web page.

Our In Print section includes a number of fresh and insightful commentaries about the environment and the economy, as well as essays on international issues, including a piece considering the security implications of Arctic climate change for the United States. In this issue, you’ll also find links to recent Fraser Fast Track episodes focusing on foreign aid and US-Canada relations.

As always, we encourage you to add Fraseramerica.org—a storehouse of cogent commentary and in-depth analysis—to your list of bookmarks. You can also follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter and Facebook, and you can share Fraser Insight with friends and colleagues by inviting them to sign up for our e-newsletter here. For back issues of Fraser Insight, visit our archives.


In this issue of Fraser Insight

Comparing Economic Downturns
Fraser Forum, November 2009

While no one would disagree that the current recession has imposed great hardship on too many of our fellow citizens, the notion that the recession is as severe or serious as the Great Depression is simply not based on evidence.

A Clunker of an Idea
Fraser Forum, October 2009

Supporters of the “Cash for Clunkers” program claim that the effort boosted auto sales and helped the environment, but a closer look paints a different picture.

Is the Recession Ending?
Fraser Forum, October 2009

The economic forecast is looking brighter, but a number of dangers remain ahead.

A Very Cold War? 
Military Officer, September 2009

Opportunities, challenges, and tensions emerge in the Arctic.

Competition: Encouraging Excellence in the Marketplace
Fraser Forum, September 2009

An economy where competition is hobbled, taxed, or otherwise legislated against would be hopelessly stagnant.

NATO’s New Mission Statement
Fraser Forum, September 2009

At the moment, NATO’s next Strategic Concept is “a blank sheet of paper,” in the words of one official. But NATO’s current challenges offer plenty of guidance on how that page could be filled.

Surrendering Outer Space
Policy Review, August/September 2009

What if, in the midst of its epic conquest to explore and colonize the New World, Britain—the greatest seafaring power of its day—had to mothball its naval fleet and rely on other countries to transport British men and material across the oceans? Something not too dissimilar is about to happen in space, as the United States prepares to retire its fleet of space shuttles.

The Forgotten Fronts
American Legion Magazine, September 2009

For the better part of a decade, Americans have been focused on Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet the war on terrorism rages on many fronts.

Cat Is out of the Bag on Green Shopping
Detroit News, August 8, 2009

With the arrival of reusable grocery bags, there appeared to be, at long last, a definitive “eco-friendly” answer to that question posed daily to consumers: “Paper or plastic?” But researchers have recently discovered that the supposedly green alternative actually harbors bacteria, mold, and other unappetizing organisms.

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Canadian Health Policy Failures: What’s Wrong? Who Gets Hurt? Why Nothing Changes

As America grapples with reforming its health care system and introducing a public option, this book details the failures of Canada’s government-run health care system and serves as a warning to US policymakers.

Waiting Your Turn (19th edition)

As American policy makers weigh a major expansion of government involvement in the US health care system, Canada serves as a cautionary tale. As this Fraser Institute report reveals in sharp detail, Canadian health care is plagued by systemic problems, not the least of which is its inability to deliver timely care for the full range of health care events.

Access Delayed, Access Denied: Waiting for New Medicines in Canada (2009 Report) 

In 2007, Canada’s median approval time to grant market authorization for new drugs was 355 days, while the FDA’s was 277 days.

Health Insurance and Bankruptcy Rates in Canada and the United States

Statistical evidence does not support claims that there is a link between bankruptcy and the absence of government-run health care in America.

Informing the Health Care Debate 

The debate over health care reform in the US is being shaped by several flawed ideas. Drawing on hard-learned lessons in Canada, this package of reports offers sound, fact-based research and analysis to help policy makers and average citizens make informed decisions in line with free-market principles.

Global Petroleum Survey 2009

The annual Global Petroleum Survey measures and ranks the investment climates of 143 oil and gas producing regions around the world. This year’s survey shows that nine of the top 10 jurisdictions are in the United States, with Arkansas claiming the top spot.

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Discussing health care with Brett Skinner, the Fraser Institute’s director of bio-pharma, health, and insurance policy

Fraser Insight: Many advocates of an expanded role for the government in health care in the US point to Canada as a model, often arguing that Canada’s system is cheaper and more efficient. What does your research say about this?

Brett Skinner: It is often assumed that Canada spends less on health care than the United States and that Canadians get the same quality and quantity of medical goods and services as Americans. The reality is that, on average, Americans spend more of their GDP on health care, but get faster access to more and better medical resources in return for the money spent. Canadian governments restrict the supply of health professionals and medical technologies, neglect the modernization of hospitals, and hold the wages of health professionals, as well as the prices for other medical goods and services, below market prices.


Fraser Insight: President Obama has noted that if he could start from scratch, he would create a single-payer health care system in the US. Can you discuss some of the shortcomings of the single-payer system in Canada?

Brett Skinner: There are many hidden costs in the Canadian single-payer system. Canadians have fewer doctors and less high-tech equipment than Americans. Canadians also have older hospitals and have access to fewer advanced medicines than Americans. Health care appears to cost less in Canada than in the United States partly because the government-run health insurance does not cover many of the advanced medical treatments and technologies that are commonly available to Americans.


Fraser Insight: Is there an alternative for the US that falls between the Obama plan, which would expand the government’s involvement in America’s health care sector, and the status quo, which allows some to fall through the cracks and premiums to jump?

Brett Skinner: Removing government-imposed benefit mandates, interstate barriers to competition, and tax preferences for employment-based coverage would make insurance more affordable and increase portability. Compulsory private insurance, with a means-tested, low-income subsidy, is the fairest way to impose a government guarantee of universal health insurance coverage. It is better to require everyone to prioritize the allocation of his or her own income toward the purchase of health insurance before obligating taxpayers to subsidize those folks, who might otherwise spend their disposable income on unnecessary items and later demand “free” health care from the government when they become ill.

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We welcome your questions and comments. Email us at insight@fraserinstitute.org. Additional contact information is available on our website. To learn more about our research team, please visit the Who We Are page on our website. To access past issues of Fraser Insight, visit our archives.

 
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