Dear FRONTLINE,

Hello from Finland.

Thank you for this program as I could compare the other countries you visited.

As an American living in Finland for 23 yrs, I and my family cannot complain about the system here. Health care, etc almost free. Some examples: free dental care until your 18 or free education but going to college or the university, you pay for your own daily living expense. We do not mind paying 18 or 28% of income for taxes because we know the benefits that will come from if needed. I recently had serious eye operations and the overnight hospital care, plus surgery, was quite unbelievable comparing to what I would pay in the States.

heinola, finland

Dear FRONTLINE,

This program, although informative, may focus too much on cost control though limitation of access to doctors and limitation of doctors compensation. If we want to understand the real problem we must consider that doctor compensation accounts for only about 3% of the total health care costs in the USA. We must be willing to look at the other 97%.

Unregulated HMO/insurance profits, unchecked hospital charges and colossal drug company profits are the real culprits. These special interest groups contribute greatly to political groups and are not likely to be addressed directly unless we as a nation demand such.

jeffrey jacques
prescott, az

Dear FRONTLINE,

I think that your conclusions were, for the most part, correct. In the USA the free-market system is contorted by regulations that really eliminate the free market, and make it more possible for the deep-pocket concerns to exploit and bully the average patient AND physician.

It is an abomination that insurance companies should make a profit by devising ways to avoid paying claims. No one should go bankrupt because of medical costs that are carved-out of their plans.

Pharmaceutical companies also gouge the public, although they at least provide a valuable product. Tort reform is also essential to revising our healthcare system, but unfortunately this will not happen as long as most legislators are attorneys. Frivolous lawsuits are responsible for a significant amount of defensive care and early retirement of quality physicians. Medical courts, similar to bankruptcy courts, could remedy many of these suits in an expedient and inexpensive fashion.

And lastly, as a practicing general surgeon in a rural California area, our reimbursements are already dictated by the government, regardless of what we charge. We have no way of passing-on our increasing overhead. We can only absorb it until we close shop. So most of us in the medical field would like to see the system change, so that we can stay in business and provide the quality care that we spent so many years training to deliver.

Randolph Lawrence
Atascadero, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Simply put, your program should be mandatory viewing for all U.S. citizens.

I only disagree with one aspect of Mr. Reid's excellent report; even if you have employer sponsored health care in this country you are guaranteed nothing more than overpriced mediocrity. What I find equally infurating is that employers have separate insurance for medical and dental and quite often vision as well. Our system is bankrupting and in some cases killing our people and it needs to be changed sooner rather than later.

Alexander Schubert
Burlingame, California

Dear FRONTLINE,

This has to be the most informative, interesting, relevant, and surprisingly smart TV reporting I've seen.

Had never heard of T.R. Reid, but you bet I'm a fan of his now. Excellent and riveting insight on how other cultures solve a problem about which we, in the United States, are still in denial. I lived in Montreal for five years while I did my doctoral work at McGill, and am especially glad that T.R. opened our eyes to alternatives besides the Canadian system.

Dr. Laurence E. LaForge
Reno, NV

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you so much for this show, which all Americans should see.We have so much to learn from other countries. For years I've been advocating a study of how other country's systems work so we could learn from them and now I see that's exactly what Taiwan did!

All Americans should be ashamed of having such a poor infant mortality rate and other poor health statistics. We are in the thrall of greed. Thank you again for this very valuable show. I hope it is repeated often

Michael Lockert
Sonoma, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

A thousand bravos, Frontline, for your courageous, truthful and blinding glimpse of the obvious.

We know how to fix health care and California is leading the way with Senate Bill 840 (Kuehl) Universal Health Care Act. Over 70% of voters surveyed here want a publicly funded, single payer insurance system. 62% of our legislators PASSED our similar bill in 2006. We're only six votes away from a 68% super-majority vote which would override a Schwarzenegger veto.

Frontline viewers should be grateful, as we are, for your outstanding report. They can view our 22 minute video which explains exactly how "single payer" will work. It's at our coalition campaign website, www.onecarenow.org.

George Savage
PACIFIC PALISADES , California

Dear FRONTLINE,

I just came back from Taiwan 3 weeks ago. After having reinstated my residency there, I was issued my National Health Care card in 5 days, the kind mentioned in the program. I am covered fully anywhere I go/live in the world. I am so very impressed by their system.

San Francisco, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

What a novel concept - learn from the success of others. Can the US turn the mirror on itself and accept we are at the bottom of the pile in caring for our citizens.

I am a family physicain who is very frustrated and marginalized in my ability to care for my patients because of the lack of coverage and costs of our system. More and more of physicians support a "single payer" system that will reduce overhead and cover all Americans.

Thanks to T.R. Reid for his excellent program to expand the discussion on America's "lack" of health.

Cory Carroll
Fort Collins, CO

Dear FRONTLINE,

That was a great piece.It confirmed for me what I have always suspected. Medicine practiced with free-market profit motives can only have one set of results: highest cost, poorest outcomes, least just coverage.

The mere idea that the richest nation on earth allows it's citizens to become destitute in the face of a medical crisis is an outrage. I can't understand why there is not more impetus on the part of the electorate to make the required adjustments.

Redmond, WA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I hear frequently that the high medical costs in the U.S. are needed to fund medical research, development, and bringing the new technology to us. I wonder what the U.S. spends on R&D and what other countries accomplish compared to us? Does the U.S. lead the world in developing new medical advances?

Ray Lowder
Walla Walla, WA

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

Click here for a discussion of the cost of drugs in other countries -- and whether his prices fund innovation.

Dear FRONTLINE,

Many people are convinced that universal coverage equates to longer wait times and loss of choice of doctors. In reality, my HMO dictates which doctors I can see. I already have a 2 week wait to get in to see my doctor. And yes, I have friends who have filed bankruptcy over medical bills. Doctors should get reimbursed by the goverment for most of their medical school costs. Malpractice insurance should also be redefined. Healthcare should be considered a constitutional right, something our founding fathers worded as 'life'.

Frontline offered some great insight as to how we can get there. Our biggest hurdle is Mt. Greed.

Jackie Fitzgerald
La Grande, Oregon

Dear FRONTLINE,

Some of the highest medical expenses in the US are extraordinary medical interventions to prolong life. Ironically,the greatest "health care" expenses are incurred in the last year of life. There is too much emphasis on high tech interventions for end of life care rather than on basic preventive health care such as immunizations, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, and general public health. Why? Because high tech medicine is where the money is.

It was clear from the interviews that many governments view their role as stewards of citizens rather than stewards of big business. Sad to say, having worked in the medical field for twenty years, I have come to the conclusion that the highly profitable and convoluted medical industry preys on the miseries and misfortunes of others.

Anchorage, Alaska

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am trying to figure out when we became so programed in this country against "government involvement". We have a public school system, public libraries, public fire department and police department to name a few of the ways we live with government involvement. It's propaganda from our own government that has it's own hands in the profit wheel of the health care industry. I applaud "Sick Around The World for shinning a light on great examples of Universal health care around the world for us to model our health care reform. Hopefully we will all wake up and demand health care as a human right.

Barrow Davis-Tolot
Los Angeles, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

We watched as a family and learned much. Although we are self-employed we can not afford insurance.

Our 14 year son waited aweek to tell us he thought he should go havbe his forearm x-rayed. It was broken and for the delay in care we were questioned by the police. The police quickly realized we werent to blame when my son said "every time we get hurt my mom cries because she has no way to pay."It broke my heart to see him suffer to keep us out of debt. Now I say ,it doesnt matter tell me when your hurt!

We are 20,000 dollars in debt,all medical. At 45 my husband and I have not seen a doctor for 5 years.Thanks for caring enough to do this show!

eileen fink
colorado springs, colorado