Kristof apologizes to Slovenia

Posted By Annie Lowrey Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 11:52 AM Share

At the end of his New York Times column today, Nick Kristof offers a, frankly, adorable apology to the country of Slovenia.

In several columns, I've noted indignantly that we have worse health statistics than Slovenia. For example, I noted that an American child is twice as likely to die in its first year as a Slovenian child. The tone -- worse than Slovenia! -- gravely offended Slovenians. They resent having their fine universal health coverage compared with the notoriously dysfunctional American system.

As far as I can tell, every Slovenian has written to me. Twice. So, to all you Slovenians, I apologize profusely for the invidious comparison of our health systems. Yet I still don't see anything wrong with us Americans aspiring for health care every bit as good as yours.

So true! And, we noted in FP's office, Slovenia is a total Central European jewel: beautiful, prosperous, calm, safe, wealthy, and Mediterranean (tucked between Italy and Croatia, with access to the ocean and the Alps) -- plus, apparently, with universal health care to boot.

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BLUE13326

2:29 PM ET

November 5, 2009

What's really offensive is

What's really offensive is Kristoff pushing a bogus argument on measuring health systems that's been debunked countless times over the past several decades...

It's starting to feel like we've all been sucked into a timewarp back to the 1970s...

 

DAVE MARTIN FROM GRAPEFRUITLAND

10:36 PM ET

November 5, 2009

Kristof wrote just ahead of a Commonwealth Fund report

The report pretty strongly indicates that, in terms of providing effective health care, the US is at best a backwater. It looks as though we should be funding doctors, hospital administrators, and assorted insurance executives and bureaucrats to visit other developed countries and find out how to do things right.

Back in the early 1800s, we copied British manufacturing and mining without compunction. Time to do it again.

 

MXCM428

2:13 AM ET

November 27, 2009

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