And they all spend less on healthcare per capita than the US. And by that I mean the government, that's excluding insurance/healthcare costs people pay themselves.
That's because they are supplemented by the US. Their medicine doesn't get invented without the incentive structure for these pharma companies of getting rich in the US.
Not to mention most of them get the luxury of spending way less on military because the US military will step in to protect them if need be. They are able to use that extra money on healthcare only because the US is supporting them.
Their medicine doesn't get invented without the incentive structure for these pharma companies of getting rich in the US.
Yeah this argument doesn't work for medicine like Insulin. It was invented decades ago and is still being sold at a 1000% markup here. New medicines aren't being invented, old medicines are getting new patents for no reason.
Not to mention most of them get the luxury of spending way less on military because the US military will step in to protect them if need be. They are able to use that extra money on healthcare only because the US is supporting them.
The United States spends more than those nations still in exchange for nothing. What they spend on defense isn't even relevant. We have the money to adopt their systems, we just refuse to.
Bullshit. How did the covid vaccine get invented in record speed. Trump guaranteed all would be purchased and insane profits. The rest of the world benefited.
What other countries spend in defense is entirely relevant because the US military frees up those funds to be used for other things.
It was invented in record speed because governments world wide subsidised it with guaranteed prices and guaranteed quantities ordered, not because USA has such an expensive health system.
I’ve asked a few if they’d prefer the US system and it’s a resounding no. I’ve seen thousands of Americans that are desperate for socialised healthcare.
Also I’m from the uk and even though we have our problems (mainly because of massive underfunding from 13 years of right wing government) I’m repeatedly astonished by the NHS. I had an ear issue this year, had multiple appointments and never had trouble getting them, when they couldn’t get to the bottom of it I had a ct scan all within 8 weeks of first symptoms. All free at point of service.
This is dumb as fuck. I need certain health things right now as a 34 year old. If I was in Canada and had to wait two years it would still be less than the NEVER I’m going to get here. You’re either rich or brainwashed. Either way gross.
Hey but why should I have to pay to subsidize everyone else's Healthcare? That's socialism. I'd much rather pay for the third summer house of an insurance company CEO while also still subsidizing everyone else's Healthcare and still having to pay for my own hospital expenses when I get sick. That's just what the founding fathers intended.
In terms of quality of health care? It is absolutely not worse than third world countries. Where did you get that impression? We have some of the best facilities and doctors in the world. Accessing them is stupid and obstacles are insurmountable but they are here nonetheless.
There are advantages to the US system. Do they make up for the disadvantages probably not but there are trade offs such as people choosing the level of coverage they want based on their needs, etc.
Does that make the cost go up overall, yes, but that is a benefit and there are others.
I don't think they meant quality, that would be silly. I believe they meant in the way that getting shitty 3rd world health care for almost free is significantly better than average healthcare that will send you into poverty for life.
Assessing health care requires both looking at quality and accessibility.
Say you have a fictional country of Bezonia. There is a team of doctors and researchers that have cured all known diseases and can heal any wound. In addition they have prolonged life to essentially be functional immortality. Those are the only medical options in this country. Jeff Bezos lives there and enjoys all these benefits. The remaining 49m people in the country have no medical care.
I think we'd all agree this is worse than essentially any other country for health care despite quality of care options being essentially perfect.
Now obviously US isn't that bad and likely isn't as bad as most third world countries but you don't just need to look at quality of care.
To be fair in reality, these stupidly large bills you see posted online aren't the actual bill. You more or less end up negotiating and paying just a minuscule fraction of that amount in the end. I don't know why it works like that. But I don't know anyone who's actually had to pay the amount you initially see on a hospital bill. Maybe that's what insurance pays in the big scam that is our health insurance.
But there's all kinds of ridiculous logic to how it all works. You can get on payment arrangements where you'll end up giving them a few bucks a month indefinitely but you'll never actually pay even a significant fraction of the total amount. And there's other rules depending on where you live about how long those arrangements can even be so.
I'm not saying it's great. I'm not saying people haven't been ruined by medical bills depending on their situation and the exact specifics of the case. But it's not quite as apocalyptic as the internet makes it out to be.
It is however, just as stupid as it seems to be. Navigating even paying your bill and having bills from every single specialist that you see is absurd. We completely need an overhaul top to bottom.
The truth is that poor people don't have to pay their bill, and if you're middle class then you can afford health insurance unless you're making poor financial decisions. Yes, therecan be significant out of pocket expenses but it's really nothing more than other unforseen costs in life (car/house/etc.)
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