a discussion of the conflict between using statistics vs. anecdotes to educate the public on single payer

1. THE YIN AND YANG OF
STATISTICS VS. ANECDOTES IN
EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON
SINGLE PAYER
PAUL RICCI

2. SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE
• The United States spends the most Healthcare as a % of GDP (18%)
on health care than the next highest country (Micronesia, 14%)
• However the US ranks 31st in life expectancy in 2012 and 27th in infant
mortality in the world among developed nations.
• A single payer system similar to Canada’s has been shown to be most
efficient at providing care and controlling costs.

3. HEALTHCARE 4 ALL PA
• My organization, Health Care for All PA is pushing for a single payer
system in Pennsylvania.
• Vermont passed a similar plan in 2010 to be fully implemented in
2017.

4. CHALLENGES
• Top insurers and drug companies in Pennsylvania have billions of
dollars to spend on lobbying and advertising to prevent a healthcare
system to challenge their profits.

5. ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY
• Healthcare for All PA has a two pronged strategy for promoting
awareness about the need for a single payer system. Social media is
the primary tool for disseminating both.
• Healthy Artists a film documentary project which profiles local artists and their
struggles with healthcare.
• A statistical blog which discusses issues with the uninsured and the
underinsured in Pennsylvania

6. HEALTHY ARTISTS

7. CANADIAN HEALTHCARE OPPONENTS AD

8. STATISTICS: THE BORING PART
ILLITERACY ESTIMATES BASED ON THE NATL. ASSESS. OF ADULT LITERACY SURVEY OF
BASIC PROSE LITERACY

9. STATISTICS: THE ENTERTAINING PART

10. TOOLS FOR VISUALIZING STATISTICS
• The Gapminder Institute has an interactive visual graphic application
that can be downloaded for free which I will demonstrate now.
• http://www.gapminder.org

11. CONCLUSION
• Facts can be distorted with statistics (unless you read between he
lines) but it is a lot easier to do with words.
• The Fraser Institue states that 40,000 Canadians come to the US for
care but with a population of 35 million that would be 0.12% of it’s
population.