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The Dominance of the US market
and
US marketplace Ideas

VINDICATED AGAIN

Over the years I have had to confront the arguments that "we are different", that "these things could not happen here" and that "our regulations would prevent this". I have pointed out that these arguments are not logical and we are not superhuman. Our regulators have been inexperienced and inept.

We are now confronted by the nursing home scandal, the scan scam, and a host of other socially distasteful practices as the market has sought to tighten its hold on sport, the media and every other facet of our lives. That things like this would occur was predictable and was predicted. True believers were deaf.

The argument that our market is intrinsically different to that in the USA and that US corporate ideas and practices will not dominate must be accepted as an illusion.


MARKET MEDICINE MEANS US MARKETPLACE MEDICINE

Any argument for a competitive healthcare marketplace must confront and examine the health care marketplaces which already exist. The only place where a "health care marketplace" in the true sense of the word has developed and operated over a sufficient length of time for its full impact to be realised is the USA.(30 years). They have also had ample opportunity to adjust to problems. In other countries the marketplace has been limited, peripheral, tightly controlled or very modified and restricted.

New marketplace models, like that proposed by Samuel in his speech to the World Bank claim to be different and to have addressed the problems of failed market systems. It is therefore important to carefully analyse failed systems to see where they have failed, the extent of their failure, and why they have failed. Are the failures due to the underlying paradigms of understanding, the philosophy and practices of the market or are they a consequence of inappropriate pressures from alternate systems.

Samuel identifies failures in professional ethics and belief systems and he is very critical of professionalism. I examine some aspects of professionalism in the same way on another www page. Both paradigms need to be evaluated in their historical context


US CORPORATE INTERNATIONAL INTEREST

The USA has been selling their market system to the world for a number of years. US companies are the most active in establishing international divisions and are enthusiastic about the opportunities offered in international markets. US groups have established advisory services to other countries and US businessmen have set themselves up as international health care consultants. They claim credibility and discredit their critics by marketing their activities as "reform". Ron Williams in his book "Remission Impossible" published in 1992 indicated that these megacorps would not enter our market unless they could conduct businesses their way and structure the system for their purposes. Marketplace advocates plan to open our "health care market" to them - as do those promoting globalisation as an economic rather than a social process.

THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION (WTO)

The US Coalition for Service Industries (CSI) is promoting the inclusion of health care in international trade agreements. It is pressing for "liberalisation" of health care and the US government has identified with their mission. It is pressing this in international trade talks. The CSI justifies this on the basis of the vast profit opportunities for US companies in the international arena. It views the local regulatory structures which protect patients as obstructions to be liberalised. In Australia two US multinational corporations have fallen foul of our obstructions - the probity provisions which protect our citizens, and which our government has already dismantled in aged care.


COMPANIES WHICH INTERNATIONALISE

US corporations become particularly active when they face pressure from fraud investigations. They are able to cushion problems in the local marketplace by expanding overseas and relying on their international operations to tide them over. Australia has been at the receiving end on three occasions.


LOGICAL INFERENCE

However strongly theorists deny that they are promoting the US system the reality is that what we will get is US ideas, US managers and US companies. We need only look at what has happened in other countries to date. Australian business is already heavily colonised by US managers. Managers of local hospitals have brought in US managers to give them advice. No advocate of a market system in health care can credibly maintain his position unless he fully confronts what has happened in health care in the USA. Marketplace advocates like Samuel and Wooldridge do not do so. This www site describes the US system in detail. It also describes the way in which US health care principles and practices have been introduced into other countries.


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Central Map ..... Initial Map ..... USA Map ..... Australian Map ..... International Map ..... Corporate Practices Map..... (to print)
Path
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This page created April 2000 by Michael Wynne