Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Comparing Health Care For Japanese, U.S. Auto Workers 'Wrong,' Letter States

An opinion piece by Shikha Dalmia that compares health care costs of U.S. and Japanese auto manufacturers is "wrong as well as being beside the point," John Campbell, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, and Naoki Ikegami, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Administration at Keio University in Tokyo, write in a Wall Street Journal letter to the editor (Campbell/Ikegami, Wall Street Journal, 8/18).

In the op-ed, Dalmia writes that "UAW workers still enjoy a health care deal that no one else in America or Japan -- or quite possibly the planet -- does." She adds that although UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has recommended a "Japanese-style government health care system for all workers" in place of additional health care concessions, "Japanese workers bear a far bigger burden" for health care than General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler Group employees represented by UAW (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/27).

Campbell and Ikegami write that the "arithmetic" of the commentary "is clever, but it does not add up," adding that the correct way to "compare medical cost burdens is either [by] per-capita spending or percent of GDP, and on either measure, the burden in the United States is double that of Japan."

In addition, Dalmia, in "adding up what Japanese households pay for health care, ... includes the money that is transferred from their premiums to cross-subsidize health care for the elderly, while on the American side, she only includes what an auto worker pays for his own family's care," Campbell and Ikegami write, adding that the "$500 billion annual bill for Medicare and Medicaid, mainly paid by American worker households, is just left out." The authors conclude that Gettelfinger's claim that the U.S. pays "more but get[s] less" is "right on target" (Wall Street Journal, 8/18).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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