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> There's also the fact that our demand for healthcare is enormous, because we all get sick, it's a fact of life that's not gonna change very soon. > But the d
by w1ntermute 14y ago
> There's also the fact that our demand for healthcare is enormous, because we all get sick, it's a fact of life that's not gonna change very soon.
> But the demand for lawyers is completely cultural.
I don't think this difference can be taken for granted at all. For example, the American cultural tendency to consume greasy and fattening food in high quantities while not exercising leads to higher rates of disease than in other developed nations. This in turn leads to a higher need for medical care that is purely cultural in origin.
- Retric 14y agoThat's not as relevant as you might assume. A lot of heath care in the US is often barely better than snake oil due to a willingness to spend inordinate amounts of money for minimal gain or even negative gain simply to do something. Doctors who actually understand what's involved will often go for less invasive treatments which are also far less expensive. They also know the risks of combining medications and tend to take fewer medications.
- w1ntermute 14y ago> a willingness to spend inordinate amounts of money for minimal gain or even negative gain simply to do something This sounds like a cultural factor as well.
- Retric 14y agoIt's somewhat cultural, but vary common. The problem is it breaks some of the basic assumptions of heath insurance. Japan can drive down costs and add some basic rationing and get a high quality healthcare system, but because the US has so many separate entities involved none of which want to say no to the patent you get a highly expensive and dysfunctional system that also denies basic healthcare.