| Pemalite said:
The USA could learn a few things from overseas healthcare systems though which are not only cheaper, but they also provide a higher quality level of care, Trump Care is not going to achieve the success other nations have with their health systems. |
| Hiku said: It's not just a question of punished but also if their rewards are justified. |
| Pemalite said: Most western nations do have a fair health care system that is cheaper and more effective than the USA's. |
| Zekkyou said: The US already spends more per captia on healthcare than any other country in the world. It doesn't need to spend more money, it needs to spend its money better. Unfortunately that's a lot easier said than done :/ |
There are reasons beyond the healthcare system as to why the United States cost-per-capita are far higher than other nations, for example:
Notice that the cost of healthcare per citizen varies quite a bit between the states, and there's a strong link between the state's obesity level, and their healthcare costs.
The most obese states have an average obesity population of 34.66%, the least obese states have an average obese population of 21.9%.
The most obese states have average healthcost per 100k of $54.6m, the least obese states have average healthcost per 100k of $34.3m
That is, the most obese states obesity rate is 60% higher than the least obese states, and their healthcare costs are also 60% higher.
US obesity rate at national level 36%
France obesity rate at national level 10%
Sweden obesity rate at 18%
Obesity is just one variable that needs to be considered. Also factor in that the USA is in the top half of suicide rates in the OECD. and has a higher fertility rate than the EU (more babies born per year = higher cost per person)
While true that there may be issues in the USA's healthcare system that causes there to be some increase in the cost-per-capita vis-a-vis other countries, to say that it's "double" and this is entirely because of the different systems would be an incorrect position.
One other thing we need to consider here is: according to who? All of my sources in this post have used different measures for different things. I tried to find, for example, obesity numbers for UK and Germany, but they were lumped in with all "overweight". And how do they define such things? Whole population or just adults? What defines an adult, over 16, 18, 21? May depend on who's collecting the data.
How does immigration play into things, or the percentage of old people?
Finally, what is healthcare? California, New Mexico, Washington, and Maryland consider acupuncture to be healthcare. What about alternate medicine? Some states include massage therapy, herbal medication to be a part of healthcare. At the Federal level, Senator Rand Paul's healthcare Bill also defines taking vitamin supplements as healthcare. With such variance in just one country in what constitutes healthcare, how can we compare at an international level, where such variances are even more extreme?
My grandmother lives in the UK. She has bowl cancer, and is currently on treatment for it. However, the treatment is considered experimental, and so the NHS doesn't cover it. As a result, she's getting the treatment from the charity Cancer Research UK (a great institution). The drug is costing the charity tens of thousands of pounds per year. Does this get counted as healthcare?
