4 ms·
That would be a lie though. Either that or your definition of "universal" doesn't include everyone.
by pathseeker 7y ago
That would be a lie though. Either that or your definition of "universal" doesn't include everyone.
- cheerlessbog 7y agoUnless you mean "you already pay enough to fund a modern universal Healthcare system" which statistically would be true. US govt spending on Healthcare is now per capita than many universal systems.
- merpnderp 7y agoControlling for PPP? Try paying US doctors UK wages and see them all leave the industry. We’re already on the cusp of an intractable doctor shortage, try putting more down pressure on their wages and watch the healthcare meltdown.
- mrob 7y agoHow many people have the talent to become doctors, but decided against it because of the working conditions? Limit the working week to 40 hours (including during training), and you won't need such extreme wages.
- yardie 7y agoThe AMA intentionally limits the amount of doctors that can practice. If there is an intractable shortage it’s because 25% of the current practicing doctors like things the way they are. Healthcare is already melting down, for patients.
- merpnderp 7y agoLooks like this is not entirely true. Looks like Congress simply created bad regulations limiting the funding for residencies in the US. A simple formula could have been created to determine residency funded limits instead of a simple hard cap. https://www.quora.com/Who-or-what-controls-the-number-of-medical-doctors-in-the-U-S https://www.quora.com/Who-or-what-controls-the-number-of-med...
- cheerlessbog 7y agoDo you mean PPP? Prices tend to be lower in the US (outside of Healthcare anyway...) so if anything I would expect adjusting for PPP to make the difference starker.
- conanbatt 7y agoI dont follow the math here: if you are not on medicare and pay the medicare tax, you are not getting any benefit at all and paying for something. Govt cost per capita for medicare is a measure of its efficiency, but not that its already funded for everyone.
- cheerlessbog 7y agoMy point was that it happens that right now the US government spends a per capita amount on healthcare (for Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Military etc) that does not provide universal coverage but would be sufficient to provide universal coverage at the per capita cost of it in other western countries. It's an artefact of the substantially higher healthcare costs in the US.
- Mirioron 7y agoOften universal healthcare isn't universal. In Germany, for example, it's illegal not to have health insurance. If you can't afford it then you'll only get emergency care (but you would get that in the US too). If you don't have health insurance then you'll have to pay back the months you didn't have it.