I'm a physician and I've worked in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands, as well as here in the US.
This graph is not as complicated as some people make out. Most other developed countries have good primary care infrastructure - we do not. Our insurance companies are incentivized to make money, not to provide value or affordable care, unlike European companies which are bound to insure everyone at a fair price.
We have a lot to be jealous of and we owe our citizens more than supposed free market "choice".
I don't understand this - the non-US countires on that graph have universal, or near-universal health care. How can that be cheaper (per capita) than the US, where not everyone even has coverage??
Based on the anonymous physicians comments, I would except that the insurance companies motivation to keep costs down would DECREASE the amount of health care spending, not INCREASE it. Obviously there is more to it than the good Doctor states.
No, Mike, there isn't. Healthcare spending includes what you fork over to your insurance company. So if you give them $500/month and they make $100 as profit the "per capita spending" is still $500 even though only $400 was actually spent on care. With a universal system there is no profit and there are no insurance companies to act as 3rd parties and skim money off the top. Some countries have mixed systems which have private insurance for some care and this may increase spending somewhat.
Insurance companies also increase the amount of time doctors waste doing paperwork and having to hire admin staff to deal with claims. Very wasteful.
Also consider that tens of millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured - that means that they pay much more than they ought to when they actually do need care.
Anonymous is right - the graph shows what it shows.
It's cheaper in the non U.S. countries 'cause not everyone in the U.S. can afford to go to the doctor for yearly checkups. So, if they are at risk for a stroke, heart attack or some other disease, they don't know and just keep on, keeping on until it's too late and then they are paying out the back-end! With all the people in the U.S., we should have universal health care!
I'm a physician and I've worked in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands, as well as here in the US.
ReplyDeleteThis graph is not as complicated as some people make out. Most other developed countries have good primary care infrastructure - we do not. Our insurance companies are incentivized to make money, not to provide value or affordable care, unlike European companies which are bound to insure everyone at a fair price.
We have a lot to be jealous of and we owe our citizens more than supposed free market "choice".
I don't understand this - the non-US countires on that graph have universal, or near-universal health care. How can that be cheaper (per capita) than the US, where not everyone even has coverage??
ReplyDeleteBased on the anonymous physicians comments, I would except that the insurance companies motivation to keep costs down would DECREASE the amount of health care spending, not INCREASE it. Obviously there is more to it than the good Doctor states.
ReplyDeleteNo, Mike, there isn't. Healthcare spending includes what you fork over to your insurance company. So if you give them $500/month and they make $100 as profit the "per capita spending" is still $500 even though only $400 was actually spent on care. With a universal system there is no profit and there are no insurance companies to act as 3rd parties and skim money off the top. Some countries have mixed systems which have private insurance for some care and this may increase spending somewhat.
ReplyDeleteInsurance companies also increase the amount of time doctors waste doing paperwork and having to hire admin staff to deal with claims. Very wasteful.
Also consider that tens of millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured - that means that they pay much more than they ought to when they actually do need care.
Anonymous is right - the graph shows what it shows.
It's cheaper in the non U.S. countries 'cause not everyone in the U.S. can afford to go to the doctor for yearly checkups. So, if they are at risk for a stroke, heart attack or some other disease, they don't know and just keep on, keeping on until it's too late and then they are paying out the back-end! With all the people in the U.S., we should have universal health care!
ReplyDelete