Scaring America With Badly Designed Health Care Infographics
- Posted by: Morgan Clendaniel
- on July 15, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Republicans have released the above graphic explaining how the Democratic health care plan will—or really won’t—work. This looks horrifying and bureaucratic. Nothing will be organized because the arrows between them are long and wavy; how will we possibly get our insurance? The humanity. Perhaps the flowchart could be designed in such a way that doesn’t make everything look like a mishegoss of inter-agency nightmares. Perhaps then it might seem a little less scary?
No matter how scared Republicans try to make us that nationalized health care wont be able to be explained in a clean flow chart, they may have very little to say about it.
DISCUSSION: 15 Comments
How about an infographic on how the CURRENT health care system works–or, more correctly, doesn’t work?
I think that was the point: to showcase the complication of the plan and get public opinion on their side.
I’m interested in the Canadian trend toward privatized, free-market health care. Maybe we can just trade systems? They’ve tried it for years and i guess they’re ready for something that works better.
Regardless of how this horrible eye-chart looks, I know I just want as many layers of bureaucracy between me and my doctor. Centrally planned, highly regulated economies work. Here’s a great case study on a cheeky little country: http://www.mises.org/story/3564
The current healthcare system needs reform, but what Obama is proposing is the moving along the wrong track! 70% of Americans are actually pleased with their healthcare! The Obama plan is all about control! The improvements that we need to make include cost containment and personal responsibility. If you want to look at a good model for healthcare, check out Switzerland. Their system covers 98% of the population doesn’t bankrupt the govt. or overtax its citizens, and is based on free market principles. Government run healthcare, as proposed by the bill that is making its way through the house and senate is more like the sytems such as Canada and Great Britain where they have long waiting lists, rationing, etc.
I just puked a little in my mouth…this infographic looks like someone ate one too many clipart graphics and puked it all up and said “There you go, here’s your flow chart.”
Actually this chart is perfect. It shows how ugly the proposed plan really is.
Most of this chart’s uglyness comes from putting related objects as far apart as possible, so lots of lines cross needlessly. This chart shows five things:
1) A bunch of existing programs will continue to exist to insure the elderly, poor, veterans, etc.
2)People will get two kinds of subsidy to help paying for insurance. Small employers also get help providing insurance. An insurance market will be set up so that insurers have to compete for clients, rather than the near-monopoly that exists in many places today. One of the competitors might (but need not be) a government-run plan.
3)A bunch of research organizations are linked together to recommend best practices for efficient care.
4)Health worker education and training is subsidized.
None of these are really connected functions, so it should be four simple charts, not one big mess.
Sorry, thing #5 that the chart shows:
5)Republican congressional staffers are dishonest and/or bad with graphics.
ktringe@gmail.com
This would be much more helpful if it was published alongside the republican’s proposed health care solution, which is probably difficult since they don’t seem to have one.
[...] properly can only help one’s case when rolling out new policies or agendas. (Republicans, this is exactly how not to get your point across – although it does work in making government health care look really [...]
I’m surprised anyone thinks the Republicans’ chart has any substantive connection with the Democrats’ health care proposal. Of course it doesn’t. It’s pure propaganda.
The obvious response to the Republicans’ propaganda is to show two things:1) What we’re dealing with now, with all its ins and outs.2) What the administration’s proposed plan could look like.The Republicans are not interested in seeing a national health plan and they’re certainly not interested in Obama succeeding at anything. This could be a cynical plan or merely the latest proof that they run out of ideas.
Barring my personal political bias:Information graphics have become capable of delivering deeper content with increasing clarity and ease as technological advancements are developed. A decade ago, basic linear flow charts presented information in a “simple” way because the software used to generate these charts was primitive and developing complexity was laborious. Now, 2d info graphics can be created with ease. This has created a circumstance where the idea of simplifying the complex has been replaced with presenting information in all of its glorious complexity without any effort made to distill content or make content more accessible or to clarify the presenter’s point of view.The data in this flow chart would have benefited from an interactive presentation where conditions and relationships in the hierarchy could be discretely bundled and accessed based on the user’s discovery preferences.Healthcare proposals are complex ideas particularly when viewed as comprehensive solutions. A self-guided 3d interactive model is the way to achieve clarity of intention.I’m not sure if the above chart was confusing by design or by default. I have recognized that government and many significant corporations have not embraced the potential of interactive info graphics. I suspect the reason is because the software/programming learning curve is still to great.
Republicans sneak into arts colleges and design programs too. this image illustrates (sorry for the pun) the power of image/communication. It can be used to persuade agreement and create fear.