5 ms·

Because wealthy aging boomers spend more on speculative anti-aging fads in a bull market.

by ocschwar 8y ago

Latteland 8y ago
Also because the us healthcare market is for profit and they have managed to blocked market reforms.
- briandear 8y ago
  Government regulates and manipulates health care to such a degree that its hard to even suggest a free market is anywhere close to what is observed.
  - balibebas 8y ago
    It's not just healthcare, and it's not just the US. Dig deeper, look at the ex-Nazi bank called B.I.S. See how much Tether they printed in 2009.
  - jjoonathan 8y ago
    So why do the countries with even more heavily regulated "socialist" healthcare (most other developed countries) deliver the same quality at half the price? To front-run the complaints, "same quality" does depend on specifics. The USA really does lead the world in breast cancer and diabetes treatment. It is in the middle or back of the pack at nearly everything else, though, including cost, which is >double, even for treatments without quality to match. Most people would not pay >double for this if they had a choice.
    - microcolonel 8y ago
      > So why do the countries with even more heavily regulated "socialist" healthcare (most other developed countries) deliver the same quality at half the price? They don't. They offer different services at lower overall cost. Cancer survival rates are the highest in the U.S., mostly because people don't like to die, and the U.S. is (by and large) stinking rich. Here in Ontario, I got a double ear infection (from swimming in lake Erie a few days before symptoms started), and was prescribed a combination eardrop. I'm under 25, and do not have private supplemental insurance, but I expected something like this to be covered by OHIP+; turns out they decide not to cover it unless you've been experiencing symptoms for almost a full month. I ended up paying (it wasn't so bad, honestly) out of pocket for it, since my jaw was almost completely seized up at that point. Now, you expect something like this to be covered, but these particular drops (I guess the doctor assumed I had supplemental insurance, or knew I would prefer this product [it worked very well and was easy to administer]) are not covered except as a last resort. In the U.S. system, the majority of people pay for the privilege of at least partial coverage of more convenient/effective (but more expensive) medical products and services. The U.S. market produces high demand for medical products and services, and by-and-large has more disposable income, so prices can be higher.
- ocschwar 8y ago
  Lots of sectors of the economy are for profit, but they follow the S&P instead of leading it. Healthcare used to be a follower too. Now it's a leader.

Because wealthy aging boomers spend more on speculative anti-aging fads in a bull market.

Latteland 8y ago

Also because the us healthcare market is for profit and they have managed to blocked market reforms.

briandear 8y ago
Government regulates and manipulates health care to such a degree that its hard to even suggest a free market is anywhere close to what is observed.
- balibebas 8y ago
  It's not just healthcare, and it's not just the US. Dig deeper, look at the ex-Nazi bank called B.I.S. See how much Tether they printed in 2009.
- jjoonathan 8y ago
  So why do the countries with even more heavily regulated "socialist" healthcare (most other developed countries) deliver the same quality at half the price? To front-run the complaints, "same quality" does depend on specifics. The USA really does lead the world in breast cancer and diabetes treatment. It is in the middle or back of the pack at nearly everything else, though, including cost, which is >double, even for treatments without quality to match. Most people would not pay >double for this if they had a choice.
  - microcolonel 8y ago
    > So why do the countries with even more heavily regulated "socialist" healthcare (most other developed countries) deliver the same quality at half the price? They don't. They offer different services at lower overall cost. Cancer survival rates are the highest in the U.S., mostly because people don't like to die, and the U.S. is (by and large) stinking rich. Here in Ontario, I got a double ear infection (from swimming in lake Erie a few days before symptoms started), and was prescribed a combination eardrop. I'm under 25, and do not have private supplemental insurance, but I expected something like this to be covered by OHIP+; turns out they decide not to cover it unless you've been experiencing symptoms for almost a full month. I ended up paying (it wasn't so bad, honestly) out of pocket for it, since my jaw was almost completely seized up at that point. Now, you expect something like this to be covered, but these particular drops (I guess the doctor assumed I had supplemental insurance, or knew I would prefer this product [it worked very well and was easy to administer]) are not covered except as a last resort. In the U.S. system, the majority of people pay for the privilege of at least partial coverage of more convenient/effective (but more expensive) medical products and services. The U.S. market produces high demand for medical products and services, and by-and-large has more disposable income, so prices can be higher.
ocschwar 8y ago
Lots of sectors of the economy are for profit, but they follow the S&P instead of leading it. Healthcare used to be a follower too. Now it's a leader.