财富杂志新加坡如何做到超低价优质医疗服务?(1)（打印版）

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 coverage.

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 expectancy 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 practitioners 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 scouring 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 hip replacement 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 premiums 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 robust 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 countless 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 fore 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 versus 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？