Conservatives are used to hearing liberals gloat about how the island paradise that is Cuba provides free health care to its fortunate denizens. Apparently there's now yet another country that we have to look up to: Rwanda.
On her MSNBC show this afternoon, Dr. Nancy Snyderman proclaimed herself "jealous" of Rwanda, which reportedly provides health insurance coverage to 90% of its citizens.
Snyderman's guest was Mary Robinson. The former President of Ireland is now in charge of "the Ethical Globalization Initiative" at the hoity-toity Aspen Institute. Snyderman seemed intent on drawing her guest into making invidious comparisons between the US and the rest of the world. For good measure, the good doctor seemed to approvingly cite some who say we have to invoke the danger of "class warfare" in America to make progress on health care.
DR. NANCY SNYDERMAN: I'm going to put you on the spot for a second. As the former President of Ireland, I'd like you to give me a critical view of how well we're doing in the United States.
MARY ROBINSON: Not as well as many people think, actually.
. . .
SNYDERMAN: One other sort of tough question. Some experts this weekend have said we are looking at class warfare in the United States and you have to say those words if we're going to move forward. Would you agree with that?
ROBINSON: As somebody who works in this country but as a guest, if you like, I'll leave it others to put it in sharper terms. What I would like to suggest from a global health perspective is look at what some of the very poorest countries have done. Rwanda, a post-genocide country, has 90% health insurance cover. I was there last September and I was there in March --
SNYDERMAN: You're making me jealous.
ROBINSON: Doesn't it?
