America spends $4.9 trillion on healthcare. Suppose the system CAN'T be fixed?

Photo above - Believe it or not, Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy on planet earth. Ten years longer than the USA. I've actually been to HK, and I don't believe it.

I’d love to live as long as they do in the UK. Their life expectancy is 81 years, 6 months. In the USA it’s only 79 years and 7 months. We are constantly reminded of this tragedy, and urged to demand change. (see worldometer link below). Yes . .. I do want that extra 23 months. As long as the government is paying for it with taxes on somebody else, or some corporation.

We are also told to demand lower healthcare costs. America spends $4.9 billion a year. Most of that already comes from the federal government: Medicare, Medicaid, VA healthcare and dozens of subsidiary agencies certifying everything from cough drops to covid 19 masks and vaccines. One third of our healthcare cost is paid by insurance companies. Only 10% of the cost comes out of my own pocket, as co-pays and deductibles. See “NHE fact sheet” link below.

Is there any reason to believe that turning the rest of healthcare over to the government is going to reduce costs? Washington (and the states) already have most of the pie. I’m pretty sure if we surrender all of it to the government, costs are likely to rise. This has been true of almost everything: pentagon procurement, education, weather forecasting, Amtrak . . . you name it.

I believe that if 100% of our healthcare was managed by the US government, the average US lifespan won’t increase by an any significant amount, but I’m not positive. Brits drive less, don't have guns, and when they drink to excess at a soccer match, they take the bus home. So there's that.

The biggest difference between Britain's NHS and America’s kaleidoscope of private and public hospitals is what doctors and nurses get paid. The average earnings for a US doctor are $100,000 higher than a Brit doctor. (Again, there's a link at bottom).

The reason we have to pay our doctors more is because a medical degree in America costs so much more. Harvard Med School is the gold standard - do you want to guess what THAT degree costs? This what people are screaming about: what if the Trump administration reduces research grants to punish ivy league colleges for rampant anti-semitism? Those places will have to charge EVEN MORE for tuition without government dollars.

Ok, not every doctor goes to Harvard. Personally, I have two doctors. One came from India, one from Canada. You see where this is headed? Physicians get educated at much lower cost – or for free – in many countries. Then a bunch of them migrate to the USA as soon as their contractual obligation to the motherland is completed.

Let’s revisit the headline. Suppose this expensive healthcare problem can’t be fixed? Or fixed in a way that doesn’t break something else. Do we want to put the government in charge of all hospitals, and all colleges? Build a wall to prevent migrant doctors from coming to work in the USA? Invest less on development of new drugs? In case anyone forgot, the US government spend $32 billion just one iteration of the Covid vaccine, then vaccinated almost everyone for free. The mortality rate from Covid 19 was identical in both the USA and UK, by the way. (see Wikipedia link below)

Which nation had the lowest Covid mortality? For many countries, the data is bat-shit crazy (pun alert). China claims only 85 deaths per million from the virus – about 2% what the UK and USA experienced. So let’s just look at numbers reported by honest democracies. Japan did the best. Their mortality rate was 10X higher than China though.

Fixing America’s broken healthcare system may depend on things people will object to – vehemently. The Guardian (link below) just published a study that exercise alone (not prescription drugs) was MORE effective in preventing the recurrence of cancer than any doctor prescribed pills and injections. Should this be a new US government mandate? No prescription coverage if you’re a couch potato, and getting door dash fried chicken, pizza tacos, and burgers every day?

I already get more exercise than the average American (or Brit). And I don't eat blood pudding, clotted cream, or steak and kidney pie. Am I going to live longer? Will I pay less? And does the USA want to make lifestyle rules by Presidential executive order, or laws passed by the senate?

I’m just sayin’ . . .

NHE Fact Sheet | CMS

Life Expectancy by Country and in the World (2025) - Worldometer

Doctor Pay by Country 2025

COVID-19 pandemic death rates by country - Wikipedia

Exercise ‘better than drugs’ to stop cancer returning after treatment, trial finds | Cancer | The Guardian

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Elisbch · M

Canadian Dr's come to the US for better pay. They do not get paid in Canada what they can here. They actually have a shortage of Dr's there currently.

Government-guaranteed health care for all citizens of a country, often called universal health care, is a broad concept that has been implemented in several ways. The common denominator for all such programs is some form of government action aimed at broadly extending access to health care and setting minimum standards. Most implement universal health care through legislation, regulation, and taxation. Legislation and regulation direct what care must be provided, to whom, and on what basis.

The logistics of such health care systems vary by country. Some programs are paid for entirely out of tax revenues. In others, tax revenues are used either to fund insurance for the very poor or for those needing long-term chronic care. In some cases such as the United Kingdom, government involvement also includes directly managing the health care system, but many countries use mixed public-private systems to deliver universal health care. Alternatively, much of the provision of care can be contracted from the private sector, as in the case of Canada and France. In some instances, such as in Italy and Spain, both these realities may exist at the same time. The government may provide universal health insurance in the form of a social insurance plan that is affordable by all citizens, such as in the case of Germany and Taiwan, although private insurance may provide supplemental coverage to the public health plan. In twenty-five European countries, universal health care entails a government-regulated network of private insurance companies.[1][2]

CEOWORLD Magazine's Health Care Index 2024
According to the 2024 edition of the CEOWORLD Magazine Health Care Index, Taiwan ranks as the country with the best healthcare system globally, with an overall score of 78.72. South Korea (77.7) and Australia (74.11) follow closely behind.

The index ranks 110 countries based on key factors such as healthcare infrastructure, the competencies of healthcare professionals (including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers), annual per capita healthcare costs in USD, availability of quality medicine, and government readiness to address health crises.

The ten countries with the best healthcare are:

Taiwan (78.72)
South Korea (77.7)
Australia (74.11)
Canada (71.32)
Sweden (70.73)
Ireland (67.99)
Netherlands (65.38)
Germany (64.66)
Norway (64.63)
Israel (61.73)
Source: CEOWORLD Magazine
Notice the US is NOT in this list.

Notably, the top ten includes three Asian countries and five European nations, highlighting the diverse ways healthcare systems are structured across the globe.

Taiwan, for instance, is known for its efficient single-payer system that provides universal coverage and emphasizes prevention. South Korea ranks highly due to its use of advanced technology in healthcare and a strong national health insurance program. Meanwhile, Australia’s ranking is supported by its excellent healthcare infrastructure and effective public health policies.

-----------------------

Very interesting article below:

SOURCE:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/universal-health-care-racism.html

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Elisbch thanks for your reply. good post.

i have never met a foreign trained doctor who came to the USA and it WASNT for higher income.

My mother's cardiologist (previously) was head of the state cardiology professional group. He said that's something he would never have been able to achieve in India, where caste and connections to politicians are essential.

America cannot return to the past where major corporations tried to deliver "free" healthcare to all employees. Even democrats don't want that. During the Obama administration there was a jihad on "gold plated health plans" like the one the UAW negotiated into their work agreements with the big 3. The (political philosophy) was that all employer health plans had to be equal.

this certainly is an odd position, coming from a congress with gold plated healtcare programs, and a president who gets a limo ride to Walter Reed Army Medical Center every time he sneezes.

ElwoodBlues · M

@SusanInFlorida says

The (political philosophy) was that all employer health plans had to be equal.

FALSE!!!

Obamacare - which is still in effect - is a set of regulations on health insurance that set minimums of care (plus a tax penalty for those who forego insurance). Obamacare doesn't set all insurance equal; it just sets the floor.

Prior to Obamacare there was a lot of low-cost do-nothing insurance. People wouldn't discover how little their policies covered until they were in dire straits. You can still buy gold-plated insurance with low deductibles, but those policies cost much more.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ElwoodBlues that's entirely the problem. Nobody want's "the minimum standard of care" if they're actually sick. Not for

1. cancer
2. covid 19 infection
3. heart disease
4. auto crashes
5. birth defects