> Which is why almost every country outside of the US has a lower standard of care than we do. Uh, where do you get that from? The JAMA study, one of the most

> Which is why almost every country outside of the US has a lower standard of care than we do. Uh, where do you get that from? The JAMA study, one of the most comprehensive such studies done, concluded that the US health care outcomes are far worse than comparable nations, yet we pay significantly more for it. The biggest reason we pay more is that provider costs are much higher than the GDP-adjusted average. $500,000,000,000 more. (And before you say it, that's factoring out defensive medicine and the results of tort reform.) A lot of that has to do with insurance companies inability to negotiate reasonable rates with the providers. And of all the insurers in the US, which is the only one that can and does negotiate reasonable rates? Medicare.