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I think we've reached the point of diminishing marginal returns to health care spending. That means when we spend more money on healthcare as a percent of GDP,

I think we've reached the point of diminishing marginal returns to health care spending. That means when we spend more money on healthcare as a percent of GDP, life expectancy starts to fall. We are already at 16% of GDP spent on healthcare. That's double the amount that any other country spends on healthcare. We also have worse life expectancy vs. countries that spend much less as a percent of GDP than we do. One of the most disturbing trends in American healthcare, IMHO, is that the suicide rate has been steadily rising since 2000. It's now back to where it was in the 1980s before SSRIs.

cheschire 8y ago
That's an odd causal link to draw. For all we know, the increase in healthcare spending is what has caused the life expectancy to fall less than it otherwise would have.
azmodeus 8y ago
The United States is a unique outlier due to its special healthcare structure: https://ourworldindata.org/the-link-between-life-expectancy-and-health-spending-us-focus https://ourworldindata.org/the-link-between-life-expectancy-... I think a better conclusion would be that life expectancy can be hardly increased with further spending in the current healthcare system.
thomasfedb 8y ago
It's not how much you spend, it's what you get for it.
rsynnott 8y ago
US healthcare outcomes in most areas aren't actually particularly good, though (iirc, it does reasonably well on cancer, but is under par on most other stuff). The US healthcare system is expensive because it's inefficient.
- avgDev 8y ago
  I would argue that it's expensive because it is private and unregulated. The amount of anger the healthcare system can cause in the US is unbelievable. Example, I had a surgery that was pre-approved. Then, I received a bill for $20k. I called the insurance and they said the company wanted to charge them to much and they could not come to an agreement, therefore, they are not paying. So, I call the surgery place and told them there is no way I am paying that bill. I kept getting bills for 4-5 years, till they settled with insurance company and send me a bill for $500. At that point, I decided just not to pay it, because it angered me so much. Doctors are under pressure now too. There is pressure to see many patients in a day. Push drugs, vaccinations and so on. It is terrible for everyone involved except companies who benefit financially from it.
  - rsynnott 8y ago
    > I would argue that it's expensive because it is private and unregulated. Oh, sure, that's likely what makes it inefficient.
    - the_why_of_y 8y ago
      Empirically, the US health care market is both the most privatized and the most inefficient. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/01/america_spends_way_way_way_mor.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/01/america_... https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/cu-ups080211.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/cu-ups080211...
izzydata 8y ago
I doubt it helps that anything medical related costs so much more in the US than it does anywhere else for no real reason.

cheschire 8y ago

That's an odd causal link to draw. For all we know, the increase in healthcare spending is what has caused the life expectancy to fall less than it otherwise would have.

azmodeus 8y ago

The United States is a unique outlier due to its special healthcare structure: https://ourworldindata.org/the-link-between-life-expectancy-and-health-spending-us-focus https://ourworldindata.org/the-link-between-life-expectancy-... I think a better conclusion would be that life expectancy can be hardly increased with further spending in the current healthcare system.

thomasfedb 8y ago

It's not how much you spend, it's what you get for it.

rsynnott 8y ago

US healthcare outcomes in most areas aren't actually particularly good, though (iirc, it does reasonably well on cancer, but is under par on most other stuff). The US healthcare system is expensive because it's inefficient.

avgDev 8y ago
I would argue that it's expensive because it is private and unregulated. The amount of anger the healthcare system can cause in the US is unbelievable. Example, I had a surgery that was pre-approved. Then, I received a bill for $20k. I called the insurance and they said the company wanted to charge them to much and they could not come to an agreement, therefore, they are not paying. So, I call the surgery place and told them there is no way I am paying that bill. I kept getting bills for 4-5 years, till they settled with insurance company and send me a bill for $500. At that point, I decided just not to pay it, because it angered me so much. Doctors are under pressure now too. There is pressure to see many patients in a day. Push drugs, vaccinations and so on. It is terrible for everyone involved except companies who benefit financially from it.
- rsynnott 8y ago
  > I would argue that it's expensive because it is private and unregulated. Oh, sure, that's likely what makes it inefficient.
  - the_why_of_y 8y ago
    Empirically, the US health care market is both the most privatized and the most inefficient. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/01/america_spends_way_way_way_mor.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/01/america_... https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/cu-ups080211.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/cu-ups080211...

izzydata 8y ago

I doubt it helps that anything medical related costs so much more in the US than it does anywhere else for no real reason.