Major overhaul of health insurance unlikely

Americans have high hopes for changes to the nation's health insurance system in order to provide more people with coverage and lower costs. But the healthcare reform plan presented by President-elect Barack Obama during his campaign called for only modest changes, not a radical overhaul. That was a wise move, according to a paper published online in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

The study, by an international team of medical and political sociologists, explored the healthcare systems in 21 countries and concluded that it's difficult for any country to make big changes to its system because of history and long-standing traditions that created the system. The study found that many countries wish for change in their healthcare systems, but changes usually come about incrementally and are unique to the country and its people. For example, U.S. residents who were surveyed were less likely that people from other countries to agree that government should be responsible for healthcare (38% supported that idea compared with 80% or more of the people in Slovenia, Great Britain, Spain and other countries).

"One of the arguments you hear about healthcare reform tends to be, 'Why can't we be more like this or that country,' " said Indiana University sociologist Bernice Pescosolido, a co-author of the study, in a news release. "This study suggests there are real cultural limits to the kinds of policies that can be proposed, because people are attached to the history of their own system."

The changes suggested in Obama's plan, she said, were less radical than other presidential candidates. But, she said, "it showed an understanding of the tolerance for change."

-- Shari Roan

Photo: New Jersey Gov. John Corzine (D) and Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) testify about healthcare reform on Sept. 18, in Washington D.C. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images.