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Other Western countries have unquestionably more efficient and better coverage healthcare system, but you need to define what you mean by "more government suppo

Other Western countries have unquestionably more efficient and better coverage healthcare system, but you need to define what you mean by "more government support". The US made up 33% of revenue of pharmaceutical companies in 2017, 50% more than 15 Western Europe countries combined. [0] One may argue that pharma companies use US revenue to subside their cost elsewhere. The US spent $4.7T on healthcare in 2018, of those 40% were paid by Medicare and Medicaid. In general more than 70% are from federal and state governments, employers and other non-household sources, the rest is out of personal pocket. So no, there's been enormous government support healthcare spending in the US. The issue is efficiency. [0] - https://www.statista.com/statistics/784420/share-of-worldwide-pharma-revenue-by-country https://www.statista.com/statistics/784420/share-of-worldwid... [1] - https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Sta...

take_a_breath 6y ago
Nobody said there wasn’t enormous support for healthcare in the US, so I’m not sure what you’re arguing. It seems like a strawman. Without more information on the population, healthcare systems and income level of the 15 Western European countries, your data point doesn’t really prove anything. Also notable that you focused exclusively on healthcare in lieu of mentioning education or housing.
- chrisco255 6y ago
  U.S. also spends an extraordinary amount on schooling: $12,201 per year per student in 2017 (K-12 education) [1]. College education spending is also very high, as public colleges and universities are highly subsidized (typically an in-state student only pays about 1/3 to 1/4 of total costs, which is why out-of-state is more expensive) [2]. Keep in mind, low income students are eligible for Pell grants. There's a lot of federal and state funding of research, etc. I would wager U.S. is among the highest in per capita spending for education. [1] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/school-spending.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/school-s...). [2] https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-co...
  - take_a_breath 6y ago
    Again, an argument nobody is making. Nobody argued that the US doesn’t spend money on healthcare, education or housing. The disconnect is in how/where that money is spent. In healthcare, for example, we have created specific socialized programs for each at-risk population: VA for veterans, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, and CHIP for children. Meanwhile, everyone else is forced to enter the private marketplace. In education, we’ve drawn lines which make a “per capita” number meaningless. If I spend $15k on one kid and $5k on another, my per capita spending is $10k. That doesn’t tell me anything about the spending each kid received. When you mostly fund schools through local property taxes, areas with higher property values can afford better schools. If spending didn’t matter, we wouldn’t consistently see the richest areas spending the most. They obviously see a correlation between the spending and student success.

take_a_breath 6y ago

Nobody said there wasn’t enormous support for healthcare in the US, so I’m not sure what you’re arguing. It seems like a strawman. Without more information on the population, healthcare systems and income level of the 15 Western European countries, your data point doesn’t really prove anything. Also notable that you focused exclusively on healthcare in lieu of mentioning education or housing.

chrisco255 6y ago
U.S. also spends an extraordinary amount on schooling: $12,201 per year per student in 2017 (K-12 education) [1]. College education spending is also very high, as public colleges and universities are highly subsidized (typically an in-state student only pays about 1/3 to 1/4 of total costs, which is why out-of-state is more expensive) [2]. Keep in mind, low income students are eligible for Pell grants. There's a lot of federal and state funding of research, etc. I would wager U.S. is among the highest in per capita spending for education. [1] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/school-spending.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/school-s...). [2] https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-co...
- take_a_breath 6y ago
  Again, an argument nobody is making. Nobody argued that the US doesn’t spend money on healthcare, education or housing. The disconnect is in how/where that money is spent. In healthcare, for example, we have created specific socialized programs for each at-risk population: VA for veterans, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, and CHIP for children. Meanwhile, everyone else is forced to enter the private marketplace. In education, we’ve drawn lines which make a “per capita” number meaningless. If I spend $15k on one kid and $5k on another, my per capita spending is $10k. That doesn’t tell me anything about the spending each kid received. When you mostly fund schools through local property taxes, areas with higher property values can afford better schools. If spending didn’t matter, we wouldn’t consistently see the richest areas spending the most. They obviously see a correlation between the spending and student success.