“Sick Around the World” airs tonight

Tonight’s episode of Frontline, Sick Around the World, compares the universal health care systems of five capitalist countries – Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland and the UK – looking for ideas that could work in the US. Japanese consumers go to the doctor 3 times as often as we do, get more than twice as many MRIs, use more drugs and spend more time in the hospital, and still spend half what Americans do per capita for health care. Many countries include private insurance with public oversight in their programs. Frontline airs on PBS stations at 9 pm tonight.