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On the other hand, if you adjust the costs for purchasing power, the unfortunate result is that most of the people are pretty much fucked. In fact the US would

On the other hand, if you adjust the costs for purchasing power, the unfortunate result is that most of the people are pretty much fucked. In fact the US would look cheaper for the majority of the population. Which is comparing against a low bar. I don't think you could classify that as a working system.

piyush_soni 13y ago
>On the other hand, if you adjust the costs for purchasing power, the unfortunate result is that most of the people are pretty much fucked. They are not. As I said, this was the cost in the best of hospitals. In government hospitals, poor people get medical care for a fraction of it. Of course, the health care system is still not good, but I'm convinced that a US like system of insurance is not a solution either. Canada and some other countries have it much better. >In fact the US would look cheaper for the majority of the population. No, it's not. Had this system been working, millions of Americans wouldn't go outside USA to get basic treatment (many of them go to India). Something is fundamentally wrong here ([1], [2], [3], [4]). [1] 7.5 Million US residents travel abroad for care each year: http://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/ http://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/ [2] Medical Bills Are the Biggest Cause of US Bankruptcies: Study : http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 [3] Why U.S. Health Care Is Obscenely Expensive, In 12 Charts : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/health-care-costs-_n_3998425.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/health-care-costs-_... [4] 'Medical tourism' draws Americans to India : http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/travelers-notebook/2013/aug/18/medical-tourism-draws-americans-india/ http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/traveler...
- adventured 13y ago
  I agree with some of your points here, but this has to be noted. It's not 7.5 million US residents per year, it's 750,000. And this: "The nonpartisan Fraser Institute reported that 46,159 Canadians sought medical treatment outside of Canada in 2011, as wait times increased 104 percent — more than double — compared with statistics from 1993." Calculated upwards, that would be 404,000 or so on a population equal basis with the US. A lot of Canadians are seeking treatment abroad too.
  - piyush_soni 13y ago
    Humm ... That's a mistake on my part. But this is because I'd seen another article from 2009 [5] which clearly said it was 6 million. And this article was from 2014 so I quickly read that as 7.5 million. [5] http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/ http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/

piyush_soni 13y ago

>On the other hand, if you adjust the costs for purchasing power, the unfortunate result is that most of the people are pretty much fucked. They are not. As I said, this was the cost in the best of hospitals. In government hospitals, poor people get medical care for a fraction of it. Of course, the health care system is still not good, but I'm convinced that a US like system of insurance is not a solution either. Canada and some other countries have it much better. >In fact the US would look cheaper for the majority of the population. No, it's not. Had this system been working, millions of Americans wouldn't go outside USA to get basic treatment (many of them go to India). Something is fundamentally wrong here ([1], [2], [3], [4]). [1] 7.5 Million US residents travel abroad for care each year: http://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/ http://www.cdc.gov/features/medicaltourism/ [2] Medical Bills Are the Biggest Cause of US Bankruptcies: Study : http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 [3] Why U.S. Health Care Is Obscenely Expensive, In 12 Charts : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/health-care-costs-_n_3998425.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/health-care-costs-_... [4] 'Medical tourism' draws Americans to India : http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/travelers-notebook/2013/aug/18/medical-tourism-draws-americans-india/ http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/traveler...

adventured 13y ago
I agree with some of your points here, but this has to be noted. It's not 7.5 million US residents per year, it's 750,000. And this: "The nonpartisan Fraser Institute reported that 46,159 Canadians sought medical treatment outside of Canada in 2011, as wait times increased 104 percent — more than double — compared with statistics from 1993." Calculated upwards, that would be 404,000 or so on a population equal basis with the US. A lot of Canadians are seeking treatment abroad too.
- piyush_soni 13y ago
  Humm ... That's a mistake on my part. But this is because I'd seen another article from 2009 [5] which clearly said it was 6 million. And this article was from 2014 so I quickly read that as 7.5 million. [5] http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/ http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/