BTW - The doctor referred to above–I helped prepare his tax returns. The amount of money he’s making is obscene–and I don’t think it’s because he’s working 22-hour days. I think a lot of the stuff he does is borderline fraud. (Again–based on almost zero knowledge of the healthcare guidelines or insurance.)
It differs dramatically across Canada too. But I’ll agree that poverty in the US is part of the reason that healthcare is an inconvenient topic for a lot of people.
The “problem” with hospitals is that 80% of them are non-profit with basically no oversight.
There are only 35 million people in Canada.
And even if they’re “non-profit” they’re really for profit, they just don’t have to pay those pesky things called taxes.
Yes but your comment about why you should compare the US system to other developing countries rather than to industrial countries boiled down to “there’s a lot of poor regions, so we should compare ourselves to other poor countries.” There is no reason that population is all that relevant because these things scale. We should compare ourselves to other advanced industrial countries, although industrial countries with more zones of poverty than Switzerland are better options, hence Canada.
If you take the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain you have about the same population as the US. All of them have universal healthcare in some similar form although they differ very much in culture, GDP and demographics. Might the solution be a healthcare system on a state level that is adjusted to the unique requirements of each state?
Still, I honestly don’t know what GDP or technological capabilities have to do with healthcare. It is such a basic requirement that all the ifs and hows should be completely secondary.
exactly. non-profit doesn’t mean they won’t try to hog money whenever possible.
There’s a lot of technological infrastructure and knowledge that goes into delivering healthcare. If you don’t have the supporting infrastructure or money to build it, it’s more understandable why the system would suck.
Of course corruption in politics also explains why a lot of health spending doesn’t end up in positive health outcomes, which is one of the reasons public health care in Brazil is so atrocious (though the problems of poverty and precarious infrastructure also matter)
They don’t have the SAME system, that’s my point. Implement a single universal healthcare system across the EU and I’ll consider myself proven wrong. A healthcare system is not scalable IMO. Just look at the huge state-to-state disparity of costs for the exchanges published yesterday. A “bronze plan” costs $114 in Virginia and $271 in Wyoming.
Very interesting article: “21 graphs that show America’s health care prices are ludicrous”
Apparently, almost every procedure, drug or service costs 2-3 times more than in any other country including really expensive places like Norway or Switzerland.
^^ I hesitate to reduce the amount of education that doctors receive, but that education has to be made more affordable (as does college in general).
^Education is another bloated industry just like healthcare, and there is a lot of wastage in 4+4 medical education.
WTF is up with cost for healthcare in the states? It’s like everything overpriced but negotiable, like you’re at an open air market in Vietnam or something. My gf had an eye infection, ended up going to an eye hospital in Philly. For two visits: $5000. Insurance bids them down to $2500 and we pay a co-pay.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, in even attempting private healthcare and health insurance in the first place is that there is no price transparency whatsoever. None. I had a high deductible plan last year and got some bloodwork done, because I like to see how my numbers are every now and then. Cost: $500. For colestrol, white/red count and tryglicerides. $500. Frankly, this is why healthy people do not go to the doctor until they are sick.
Make the pricing transparent. Consumers will vote.
Pelosi: telling the local elected officials assembled that Congress “[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it…”
^ That’s also why health savings accounts are great. I believe studies have shown that when people use their own money (as opposed to relying mainly on insurance), they decrease consumption and make smarter decisions. Imagine that…people are rational.
Yeah, I have an HSA and it is great. It won’t cover my sex change (because they claim it is elective), but it does cover egregious overcharges for bloodwork and other routine check ups.
Is this the same Nancy Pelosi that appeared on Meet the Press and said that natural gas is “cheap, abundant, and clean compared to fossil fuels”?
Greenman, will you please stop with that stupid quote? You’ve used it multiple times. Honestly it is barely even a mistake. If she said “other fossil fuels” then the statement would be correct.
Come up with a better quote if you want to dis a politician or GTFO.