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Ah, so then that's what this boils down to? The high cost of health care is a symptom of capitalism run a muck? We're being charged these exorbitant rates sim

Ah, so then that's what this boils down to? The high cost of health care is a symptom of capitalism run a muck? We're being charged these exorbitant rates simply because they can get away with it? If only we had a single payer that was able to negotiate, these costs would evaporate over night? Not sure it's that simple... Although, in a way it does kind of make sense. Unlike consumer goods (television, cars, etc.), one's health is something they're likely willing to break-the-bank for. So without any kind of restraint, I could see costs getting out of control. The hospital is focused on making as much money as they can, and the consumer is focused on preserving their health. If one doesn't have their health after all, what do they have? Add an ever increasing demand (baby boomers are aging rapidly) and suddenly, things begin to look much worse for the demand side of the equation.

tapland 8y ago
> Not sure it's that simple... There aren't that many countries that pay as much as the us from public funds (two, see my previous link) or out of pocket (none). The problem is localized to the US.
- i_am_proteus 8y ago
  Consider: - The US is much fatter, on average - Medicare's standards for reimbursement are often not based on cost effectivenes - The US government will pay around $150K/QALY vs. e.g. the UK's c. $40K/QALY. More expensive healthcare per capita is what I'd expect given those attributes and "single payer is the only solution" does not seem to be logically linked to the problem and facts.
  - tapland 8y ago
    You are paying much more than anyone else[0]. I really doubt that's because of you being the 17th fattest country by BMI[1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass...
    - i_am_proteus 8y ago
      Please note that the data you link does not address obesity and health costs simultaneously! Obesity is indeed a contributing factor, around 5% of total.[ξ] And from your references, the US has substantially more obeses and overweights per capita than the countries against which it is compared for health costs [ξ]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449869/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449869/

tapland 8y ago

> Not sure it's that simple... There aren't that many countries that pay as much as the us from public funds (two, see my previous link) or out of pocket (none). The problem is localized to the US.

i_am_proteus 8y ago
Consider: - The US is much fatter, on average - Medicare's standards for reimbursement are often not based on cost effectivenes - The US government will pay around $150K/QALY vs. e.g. the UK's c. $40K/QALY. More expensive healthcare per capita is what I'd expect given those attributes and "single payer is the only solution" does not seem to be logically linked to the problem and facts.
- tapland 8y ago
  You are paying much more than anyone else[0]. I really doubt that's because of you being the 17th fattest country by BMI[1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass_index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_body_mass...
  - i_am_proteus 8y ago
    Please note that the data you link does not address obesity and health costs simultaneously! Obesity is indeed a contributing factor, around 5% of total.[ξ] And from your references, the US has substantially more obeses and overweights per capita than the countries against which it is compared for health costs [ξ]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449869/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449869/