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There's many things wrong with US healthcare. But somehow the USA comes up with the the first vaccines for the coronavirus and if you want any sort of complex p

by anonu 4y ago

There's many things wrong with US healthcare. But somehow the USA comes up with the the first vaccines for the coronavirus and if you want any sort of complex procedure you travel to the US to get it. So maybe thats where the extra cost goes? To drive research, and support the infrastructure that creates good to better health outcomes on average vs the rest of the world. Saying something is a failure just because it costs so much is only looking at one side of the coin.

jeeeb 4y ago
On average healthcare outcomes in the US aren’t particularly great compared to other developed countries though (https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2019 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2...). In particular life expectancy is very low by developed world standards and deaths from preventable causes are very high. I don’t doubt that the US has world leading hospitals but the population level outcomes delivered are poor by developed world standards. The US is a net exporter of healthcare services but mostly to developing countries and the numbers involved are tiny (https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/chambers_health-related_travel_final.pdf https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/c...) The idea that people who want any sort of complex procedure travel to the US is pure fantasy. As for the COVID-19 vaccines. The first approved vaccine was the “Pfizer” vaccine developed by BioNTech in Germany (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer–BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer–BioNTech_COVID-19_vac...).
amanaplanacanal 4y ago
Vaccines for the COVID were developed simultaneously in multiple countries.
e_i_pi_2 4y ago
> But somehow the USA comes up with the the first vaccines for the coronavirus and if you want any sort of complex procedure you travel to the US to get it This isn't true, the US didn't make the first vaccines, it was created by a German company that partnered with Pfizer for trials/production/distribution[0]. People more often travel outside the US for care, we actually have the second highest amount of people leaving their home country for medical care[1], with the top destinations being in South America [1a]. > creates good to better health outcomes on average vs the rest of the world This would be nice if true, but we spend more and still have worse outcomes in almost every area[2]. The only things I could actually find that are better here is post-op sepsis and 30-day heart attack survival, but in just about every other area it's more dangerous to get care in the US. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_COVID-19_vaccine_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_COVID-19_vaccine_de... [1]: https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism/statistics/ https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism/statistics/ [1a]: https://amjmed.org/medical-tourists-incoming-and-outgoing/ https://amjmed.org/medical-tourists-incoming-and-outgoing/ [2]: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-countries/ https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality...
- sassy_quat 4y ago
  I think the preceding comment was operating on the presumption of linear returns from medical research. Since higher medical costs in the US goes directly towards medical companies, and indirectly to medical research after taxes and dividends and stockbuybacks... Of course the biggest issue of all time is that germs are evolving to survive our antibacterial soap, we may need to develop a large variety of antibiotics.

by anonu 4y ago

jeeeb 4y ago

On average healthcare outcomes in the US aren’t particularly great compared to other developed countries though (https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2019 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2...). In particular life expectancy is very low by developed world standards and deaths from preventable causes are very high. I don’t doubt that the US has world leading hospitals but the population level outcomes delivered are poor by developed world standards. The US is a net exporter of healthcare services but mostly to developing countries and the numbers involved are tiny (https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/chambers_health-related_travel_final.pdf https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/c...) The idea that people who want any sort of complex procedure travel to the US is pure fantasy. As for the COVID-19 vaccines. The first approved vaccine was the “Pfizer” vaccine developed by BioNTech in Germany (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer–BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfizer–BioNTech_COVID-19_vac...).

amanaplanacanal 4y ago

Vaccines for the COVID were developed simultaneously in multiple countries.

e_i_pi_2 4y ago

> But somehow the USA comes up with the the first vaccines for the coronavirus and if you want any sort of complex procedure you travel to the US to get it This isn't true, the US didn't make the first vaccines, it was created by a German company that partnered with Pfizer for trials/production/distribution[0]. People more often travel outside the US for care, we actually have the second highest amount of people leaving their home country for medical care[1], with the top destinations being in South America [1a]. > creates good to better health outcomes on average vs the rest of the world This would be nice if true, but we spend more and still have worse outcomes in almost every area[2]. The only things I could actually find that are better here is post-op sepsis and 30-day heart attack survival, but in just about every other area it's more dangerous to get care in the US. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_COVID-19_vaccine_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_COVID-19_vaccine_de... [1]: https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism/statistics/ https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism/statistics/ [1a]: https://amjmed.org/medical-tourists-incoming-and-outgoing/ https://amjmed.org/medical-tourists-incoming-and-outgoing/ [2]: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-countries/ https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality...

sassy_quat 4y ago
I think the preceding comment was operating on the presumption of linear returns from medical research. Since higher medical costs in the US goes directly towards medical companies, and indirectly to medical research after taxes and dividends and stockbuybacks... Of course the biggest issue of all time is that germs are evolving to survive our antibacterial soap, we may need to develop a large variety of antibiotics.