10/6/20 SimHealth (1994)

SimHealth (1994) by Thinking Tools and published by Maxis for DOS. Well, I didn’t think that this game would be so political. This is a Sim game that doesn’t put you in control of a hospital, but the entire American health care system, sheesh! After getting into a car accident and feeling dissatisfied with the treatment you received, you decide to run for office with the goal of reforming health care– easier said than done. You start by selecting your positions on four different, loaded topics, ranging from how much personal responsibility your system will have in mind to whether or not health care is a basic right. Once your term begins, it doesn’t get any easier. You’re regularly hounded by your advisors and medical professionals about policy; raise costs and the care improves, but it’s less accessible; lower costs and clog up the system. Maybe you can put have employers pay for more of the share? Well, now small businesses are getting crunched. If anyone ever asks me why I’m not a politician, I’ll show them this game. It lacks a lot of the charm and playful attitude of Maxis’ other Sim games, and rightfully so, as it was developed in the middle of the Clinton administration’s own tussle with health care policy. There is a victory state, but the game is a little too overwhelming for me to play enough to get there, although it drew some criticism on release for certain extreme policies being easy wins. I’d say that if you’re curious about health care, give it a shot, if just to get a taste of the stresses of impossible politics. Entertainment Weekly’s review of this game said, “For a vivid demonstration of just how complex — and boring — the health care crisis is, try spending a few hours with SimHealth, which lets you do what Hillary Clinton couldn’t: design a successful national health care system.” Yikes!