财富杂志 新加坡如何做到超低价优质医疗服务?(1)

Can you imagine the United States having a health care system

你能想象美国医疗系统

that delivers better outcomes than those we get today at a cost that is 75% less?

提供比现在更好的服务，而费用却便宜了75%吗？

That number is not a misprint or a fantasy; it's the reality in Singapore, where there is universal coverage¹.

该数字不是印刷错误，也不是虚构的；而是新加坡的现实，那里有全民医疗保险。

Life expectancy² is 85, more than five years better than in the U.S. Decades ago, Singapore seriously lagged the U.S;

新加坡的平均寿命为85岁，比美国的多5年。几十年前，新加坡还严重落后于美国；

now, infant mortality is lower and other medical metrics in the city-state are also better than they are here.

现在，这个城市国家的婴儿死亡率更低，其他医疗指标也比美国的好。

Doctors and health-care practitioners³ are every bit as good in Singapore as they are here, or just about anywhere else in the world.

新加坡的医生和医疗保健提供者和美国的一样好，甚至和世界上其他任何地方一样好。

Many get trained in the U.S. or at top-flight schools elsewhere.

很多医生在美国或其他国家的顶级学校接受培训。

The nation is always scouring⁴ the world for best practices and cutting-edge technologies.

该国一直在世界各地寻找最佳实践和尖端技术。

That's right—Singapore's hospitals and clinics don't hesitate to buy the latest and the best equipment and devices.

没错——新加坡的医院和诊所会毫不犹豫地购入最新最好的设备和装置。

Just look at the prices of medical procedures in Singapore. In the U.S. heart-bypass surgery will set you (and your insurer) back some $130,000.

来看看新加坡各种医疗程序的价格。在美国，心脏搭桥手术要花掉你（和你的保险公司）约13万美元。

In Singapore? $18,000. A hip⁵ replacement⁶ costs 72% less and a heart valve 92% less.

在新加坡呢？1.8万美元。髋关节置换要便宜72%，心脏瓣膜便宜92%。

Drug prices there are a fraction of ours. Insurance premiums⁷ are inexpensive—

那里的药品价格只是我们的一个零头。保险费很便宜——

about $50 for those under 20 years of age and a little more than $1,000 a year for those in their late 80s.

20岁以下约为50美元，并且80多岁的老人一年只需一千多美元。

Moreover, if you pursue bad habits, such as overeating or smoking, your premiums go up.

此外，如果你养成了坏习惯，比如暴食或抽烟，那么你的保险费会增加。

Unlike in the U.S., individuals pay for the policy, so it's portable, not tied to their jobs.

和在美国不同，在新加坡，个人为保险买单，所以它是灵活的，不受工作的限制。

Therefore, Singapore has a robust⁹ individual-insurance market.

因此，新加坡拥有强健的个人保险市场。

Does Singapore accomplish this by underpaying physicians? Nope.

新加坡是通过压榨医生的工资来实现这一切的吗？不是的。

The after-tax incomes (Singapore's income-tax rates are a fraction of ours) of general practitioners and specialists are about equal.

全科医生和专家的税后收入（新加坡的所得税率只是我们的一个零头）大致相当。

And docs in Singapore aren't plagued by malpractice costs or countless¹⁰ hours spent filling out insurance forms.

并且新加坡的医生不会受到医疗事故成本或花费大量时间填写保险单所困扰。

As this year's election campaign heats up, the issue of health-care costs will come to the fore⁸ again.

随着今年竞选活动的升温，医疗费用问题将再次成为焦点。

Unfortunately, the issue will be cast as the system we have today versus¹¹ some version of a European-style single-payer system.

不幸的是，我们将就这个问题，将我们今天的制度与某种欧洲风格的单一支付体系进行对比。

Neither model resembles what Singapore does. So what does that country do?

两种模式都和新加坡的不像。 所以那个国家是怎么做到的？

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

3 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

4 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

9 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

10 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

11 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。