While USA's public spending on healthcare is truly massive, why is it still awfully expensive to get medical attention?

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Question inspired from:

[MrChinaski]

A few things spring to mind:

- Returns to education are higher in the US -> MDs are paid more

- Pharmaceutical companies have political sway -> drugs are about 2.5x price of the same drugs in other rich countries

- Private health insurance system triages on willingness to pay instead of need, and is frightfully inefficient due to monopoly power at every stage in the process

But the really interesting answer is: because it should be. Basic economic theory says the marginal benefit produced by more consumption at a point in time diminishes. So rich people buy more points in time. The US is richer than France.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Ohhhhh right, academic fees vs returns, I didn't realize...

That would explain this line then:

"in the U. S., spending on physicians per person is about five times higher than peer countries. Plus a greater use of specialist doctors, who charge 3-6 times more in the U. S. than in peer countries."

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

that's one serious vicious circle !

[MrChinaski]

Pharmaceuticals would be the easiest to sort out with a single buyer. Every economics textbook in the world says the best, often only feasible, solution to monopsony sellers is monopoly buyers.

But Big Pharma puts money in politicians' pockets.

[MrChinaski]

* reverse monopoly and monopsony.

It's like 2am here.

[MrChinaski]

Another way of thinking about it is that maybe the US support for NATO is, or was, worth $100 billion a year for Europe. US consumers and other buyers are transferring about $250 billion more than they would if they were paying the rich-world average price t Big Pharma... so the US subsidy for global pharmaceuticals development is about 2 to 3 times what they spend on NATO.

[msc545]

There are a lot of middlemen making a hell of a lot of money out of healthcare and not actually providing any health care to anyone. Healthcare is an area of our economy that is rifled with corruption.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I found some exemplification lol:

"For example, Duke University Hospital had 900 hospital beds but 1,300 billing clerks during 2013"

[msc545]

That is not unreasonable. Have you ever tried to do medical billing and deal with the fallout from insurance companies because they don't want to pay their bills?

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I have a very limited understanding of how insurance companies work in the USA, patient side. I just know that insurance companies seem to decide where to send patients whereas in the system I know of it's the gen practitioner's role instead

[msc545]

Well the insurance company will tell you they don't decide where to send patients. They just decide what their going to pay for and what they won't pay for. And if that operates to send patients some places and not others, then that's not their problem. The truth is that most insurance companies practice medicine without a license. If you want to know a little more about this, Google the term pharmacy benefit manager to find out how it all works.

[RavVid]

No single person has any negotiating power with the medical/health system. It is not like you can shop around like you do for a TV.

I think the us needs a health system like Australia's. We pay 2% and most hospital stuff is free and you visit your GP for free. If you want oysters for breakfast while you recover from optional surgery you will need to take out private insurance.

Apart from the public system not having oysters on the breakfast menu, the care is just as good.

The point is that cost of health care is negotiated collectively.

[Zack-Bann]

Public and funded institutions get flooded with the masses so when you individually need medical attention the more you pay the better your chances are by going to a private insurance.



It’s the same in Europe, Asia, everywhere.


It’s an oxymoron, everyone can’t get medical treatment unless we have as many doctors as patients.
The more we make it easier to access the harder it will be for people to get a turn

[NathanDavis]

it would be silly and funny to think that the USA spends money, on the people... for the people to get affordable healthcare...

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

That was a shock, since I believed public spending would be really thin in this department, whereas it scales with most social market countries lol

[Still-alive]

I'm only gonna point out that of course the right wing troll here is just taking this opportunity to blame it on fat people.

Everyone here should block him.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

... Says obesity though, not fat people. Also can't argue against the idea that countering the vast array of medical side effects of obesity must cost tons of cash, and that illustrates how preventive care totally fails in the US

[Still-alive]

He means fat people cmon lol

[Still-alive]

i guarantee you he’s means healthcare should be cut off for fat people because its their own fault for being fat…. I know how they think. I've been in their circles

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

That logic would not surprise me either, but technically that's not what has been said here lol

[Still-alive]

I will never afford right wing trolls on here any grace. They have the most repugnant views on humanity. You can figure it out when you press them on it. The logic only goes one way… usually involving death. Most never say it outloud because they know what they believe is indefensible.

[Just_Ken]

Obesity drives up the proce of treatment and health insurance

[Cidknee]

Corruption!