Turns out that a single payer, socialised, universal healthcare system is the cheapest and most efficient path to quality healthcare.
All it took was most of the world proving that for decades, yet still a significant portion of the human population are dumb enough to believe a privatised profit model could improve things.
I mean, Cuba is a mess at the moment. I don't know that this proves anything other than that Italy's pivot to private healthcare and defunding public health services is fucking disastrous.
Cuba has never been successfully destabilized by the US, though we've certainly tried. The US embargo has done some economic damage, but that's different from destabilization. However, the largest part of Cuba's economic problems have been due to Cuba's own economic policies.
We’ve had the same issue in France. During the pandemic health professionals were hailed as heroes, deservedly so. But once it was over, they started asking for better conditions, and more money towards public health infrastructure. They got shut down and belittled pretty quickly.
Cuba spends a lot of money on doctor training. It may not include a lot of experience in expensive treatments, but the training is on par with most developed countries and most countries will offer reciprocity on education and licensure to Cuban doctors.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the American Medical Association is against dropping the Cuban embargo as the country would be the best place for medical tourism in the world.
For those wondering why Italy's health system is in need of help, the article says...
The coronavirus pandemic was the catalyst for many to leave; more than 11,000 health workers have left the public system since 2021. Italian medics were frontline heroes when the country became the first in Europe to be engulfed by Covid-19. However, the fines issued to some for flouting overtime rules during the pandemic were a reflection of how quickly their efforts were forgotten.
Stressed medical professionals are now either retiring early, switching to the private sector, or seeking better opportunities abroad.
In Italy’s poorer south, the public health system had endured neglect for years before the pandemic, with severe cost-cutting leading to the closure of dozens of hospitals. The mafia and political corruption have also taken their toll on services.
With the ridiculous salaries they will be offered and the poor shift organization they will find, even foreign doctors will last very little. Unless they are forced to sign long term “slavery style” contracts with penalties if they resign earlier.
Italy is turning to private healthcare, there’s no way back. And the US demonstrate to the world that this is a winning model… right? right? oh sh*t…
With the ridiculous salaries they will be offered and the poor shift organization they will find, even foreign doctors will last very little. Unless they are forced to sign long term “slavery style” contracts with penalties if they resign earlier.
Oh, and Cuba is horrifically poor, so even Italian health care wages probably feel like a good deal to them.
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