| Rath said:
Americas costs come from quite a few angles - the influence that big pharma is allowed to have with doctors (including things like kickbacks), how easily and often doctors can be sued for malpractice and how long it takes for doctors to become fully qualified. It's not as easy to fix as letting the poor people who don't really matter die. |
Additionally, the United States is very hard to compare to small-sized European nations for a variety of reasons. Americans lifestyle choices, General Land Mass Size, Best 'emergency' services in the world, American culture. Some other things to consider would be a much larger sheer amount of eldery (Even if the percentages are comparable) when this is mixed in with the above factors such as Lifestyle, Distance. You have an unhealthier population of eldery.
And while it is advertised as all well and good everywhere that Universal healthcare systems exist elsewhere are not all roses and perfection. Doctors in Germany have talked about striking, they've increased costs due to budget issues and a wide array of issues. One of the primary factors for their cheaper healthcare is the amount they pay their doctors. The problem with that is inevitably it takes the motivation from practicing medicine in Germany. Other places (Like Canada) getting simple treatments can take a lot longer than it would in the United States.
