Why Is Health Care So Expensive?

[Mikeoxenormous]

You thiink the ACA made things worse? The best thing going for it was pooling customers to negotiate the best price..Try pricing healthcare on your own through and insurance company, it's much higher...

Why is it high? Hey doctors don't work for chicken feed no more..

Get rid of 30 million illegals who abuse the hospital emergency rooms for a cold for their brats, and soon the costs would go down. Dreamers, need to be given back to their own countries along with any bleeding heart liberal who wants to keep them here..

When you find yourself blaming people who have less than you do in america, you're most likely being manipulated by folks with more than you. Every other advanced post industrial nation on the planet knows the answer, and have immigrants too.

First off these people shouldn't be here. They are taking resources that aren't theirs while robbing resources from you, me and my children. Arent you for the children?

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

Too many worthless people sucking on the govt teat, going to the hospital for every booboo, hoping for free opiates.

Agreed. Wall Street, big pharma, the insurance industry. Hell, Canadians get US pharma products for less than you do.

Because Canadians come across the border steal the pills that cost US a lot, go back and reverse engineer the product then sell a off market item for a lot less. If the US stops doing the research and development, you Canadians are fucked.

 

[Missourian]

You thiink the ACA made things worse? The best thing going for it was pooling customers to negotiate the best price..Try pricing healthcare on your own through and insurance company, it's much higher...

Why is it high? Hey doctors don't work for chicken feed no more..

Except that isn't what happens. The healthcare provider just jacks up their fees to provide a "discount".

Disconnected, much?

The GOVERNMENT determines how much the doctor is paid - not the doctor. When he accepts you as a patient, he agrees to accept whatever the government deigns to parcel out.

Your comment is erroneous.

Link?

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

You thiink the ACA made things worse? The best thing going for it was pooling customers to negotiate the best price..Try pricing healthcare on your own through and insurance company, it's much higher...

Why is it high? Hey doctors don't work for chicken feed no more..

Get rid of 30 million illegals who abuse the hospital emergency rooms for a cold for their brats, and soon the costs would go down. Dreamers, need to be given back to their own countries along with any bleeding heart liberal who wants to keep them here..

Those bleeding hearts of theirs are black and cold. They're all self centered vile people who are just useful idiots for the craftier, eviller ones at the top of the food chain.

"They're all self centered vile people who are just useful idiots for the craftier, eviller ones at the top of the food chain."

That would be every american who thinks they have the best healthcare system in the world.

You dolt, you don't see people flocking to Cuba, for their healthcare, when the US healthcare can be used?

 

[Mr Natural]

Yeah --- kinda like the grocer who sells food to the guy who sells you gas so you can go to work to get the money to pay those people are "making money off people's misery".

Do people go bankrupt trying to pay for groceries and gas?

 

[Fenton Lum]

You thiink the ACA made things worse? The best thing going for it was pooling customers to negotiate the best price..Try pricing healthcare on your own through and insurance company, it's much higher...

Why is it high? Hey doctors don't work for chicken feed no more..

Get rid of 30 million illegals who abuse the hospital emergency rooms for a cold for their brats, and soon the costs would go down. Dreamers, need to be given back to their own countries along with any bleeding heart liberal who wants to keep them here..

Those bleeding hearts of theirs are black and cold. They're all self centered vile people who are just useful idiots for the craftier, eviller ones at the top of the food chain.

"They're all self centered vile people who are just useful idiots for the craftier, eviller ones at the top of the food chain."

That would be every american who thinks they have the best healthcare system in the world.

You dolt, you don't see people flocking to Cuba, for their healthcare, when the US healthcare can be used?

You should obviously learn more about Cuba, US pharma companies are now parterning with medical researchers and doctors in Cuba. Canadians pay less for US pharma products than you do.

And then there's this that you will need to hide from:

New York, N.Y., October 8, 2015 — The U.S. spent more per person on health care than 12 other high-income nations in 2013, while seeing the lowest life expectancy and some of the worst health outcomes among this group, according to a Commonwealth Fund report out today. The analysis shows that in the U.S., which spent an average of $9,086 per person annually, life expectancy was 78.8 years. Switzerland, the second-highest-spending country, spent $6,325 per person and had a life expectancy of 82.9 years. Mortality rates for cancer were among the lowest in the U.S., but rates of chronic conditions, obesity, and infant mortality were higher than those abroad.

“Time and again, we see evidence that the amount of money we spend on health care in this country is not gaining us comparable health benefits,” said Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D. “We have to look at the root causes of this disconnect and invest our health care dollars in ways that will allow us to live longer while enjoying better health and greater productivity.”

U.S. Spends More on Health Care Than Other High-Income Nations But Has Lower Life Expectancy, Worse Health


U.S. Healthcare Ranked Dead Last Compared To 10 Other Countries

U.S. Healthcare Ranked Dead Last Compared To 10 Other Countries


Major Findings
· Quality: The indicators of quality were grouped into four categories: effective care, safe care, coordinated care, and patient-centered care. Compared with the other 10 countries, the U.S. fares best on provision and receipt of preventive and patient-centered care. While there has been some improvement in recent years, lower scores on safe and coordinated care pull the overall U.S. quality score down. Continued adoption of health information technology should enhance the ability of U.S. physicians to identify, monitor, and coordinate care for their patients, particularly those with chronic conditions.

· Access: Not surprisingly—given the absence of universal coverage—people in the U.S. go without needed health care because of cost more often than people do in the other countries. Americans were the most likely to say they had access problems related to cost. Patients in the U.S. have rapid access to specialized health care services; however, they are less likely to report rapid access to primary care than people in leading countries in the study. In other countries, like Canada, patients have little to no financial burden, but experience wait times for such specialized services. There is a frequent misperception that trade-offs between universal coverage and timely access to specialized services are inevitable; however, the Netherlands, U.K., and Germany provide universal coverage with low out-of-pocket costs while maintaining quick access to specialty services.

· Efficiency: On indicators of efficiency, the U.S. ranks last among the 11 countries, with the U.K. and Sweden ranking first and second, respectively. The U.S. has poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and administrative costs as well as on measures of administrative hassles, avoidable emergency room use, and duplicative medical testing. Sicker survey respondents in the U.K. and France are less likely to visit the emergency room for a condition that could have been treated by a regular doctor, had one been available.

· Equity: The U.S. ranks a clear last on measures of equity. Americans with below-average incomes were much more likely than their counterparts in other countries to report not visiting a physician when sick; not getting a recommended test, treatment, or follow-up care; or not filling a prescription or skipping doses when needed because of costs. On each of these indicators, one-third or more lower-income adults in the U.S. said they went without needed care because of costs in the past year.

· Healthy lives: The U.S. ranks last overall with poor scores on all three indicators of healthy lives—mortality amenable to medical care, infant mortality, and healthy life expectancy at age 60. The U.S. and U.K. had much higher death rates in 2007 from conditions amenable to medical care than some of the other countries, e.g., rates 25 percent to 50 percent higher than Australia and Sweden. Overall, France, Sweden, and Switzerland rank highest on healthy lives.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally


No other advanced country even comes close to the United States in annual spending on health care, but plenty of those other countries see much better outcomes in their citizens' actual health overall.

A new Commonwealth Fund report released Thursday underscored that point — yet again — with an analysis that ranks 13 high-income nations on their overall health spending, use of medical services, prices and health outcomes.

The study data, which is from 2013, predates the full implementation of Obamacare, which took place in 2014. Obamacare is designed to increase health coverage for Americans and stem the rise in health-care costs.

The findings indicate that despite spending well in excess of the rate of any other of those countries in 2013, the United States achieved worse outcomes when it comes to rates of chronic conditions, obesity and infant mortality.

One rare bright spot for the U.S., however, is that its mortality rate for cancer is among the lowest out of the 13 countries, and that cancer rates fell faster between 1995 and 2007 than in other countries.

"Time and again, we see evidence that the amount of money we spend on health care in this country is not gaining us comparable health benefits," said Dr. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund. "We have to look at the root causes of this disconnect and invest our health-care dollars in ways that will allow us to live longer while enjoying better health and greater productivity."

US health care: Spending a lot, getting the least


Ranking 37th — Measuring the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System
MMS: Error


Health Care Outcomes in States Influenced by Coverage, Disparities
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...-in-states-influenced-by-coverage-disparities


One explanation for the health disadvantage of the United States relative to other high-income countries might be deficiencies in health services. Although the United States is renowned for its leadership in biomedical research, its cutting-edge medical technology, and its hospitals and specialists, problems with ensuring Americans’ access to the system and providing quality care have been a long-standing concern of policy makers and the public (Berwick et al., 2008; Brook, 2011b; Fineberg, 2012). Higher mortality rates from diseases, and even from transportation-related injuries and homicides, may be traceable in part to failings in the health care system.

The United States stands out from many other countries in not offering universal health insurance coverage. In 2010, 50 million people (16 percent of the U.S. population) were uninsured (DeNavas-Walt et al., 2011). Access to health care services, particularly in rural and frontier communities or disadvantaged urban centers, is often limited. The United States has a relatively weak foundation for primary care and a shortage of family physicians (American Academy of Family Physicians, 2009; Grumbach et al., 2009; Macinko et al., 2007; Sandy et al., 2009). Many Americans rely on emergency departments for acute, chronic, and even preventive care (Institute of Medicine, 2007a; Schoen et al., 2009b, 2011). Cost sharing is common in the United States, and high out-of-pocket expenses make health care services, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies increasingly unaffordable (Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance System, 2011; Karaca-Mandic et al., 2012). In 2011, one-third of American households reported problems paying medical bills (Cohen et al., 2012), a problem that seems to have worsened in recent years (Himmelstein et al., 2009). Health insurance premiums are consuming an increasing proportion of U.S. household income (Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance System, 2011).

Public Health and Medical Care Systems - U.S. Health in International Perspective - NCBI Bookshelf


Once again, U.S. has most expensive, least effective health care system in survey

A report released Monday by a respected think tank ranks the United States dead last in the quality of its health-care system when compared with 10 other western, industrialized nations, the same spot it occupied in four previous studies by the same organization. Not only did the U.S. fail to move up between 2004 and 2014 -- as other nations did with concerted effort and significant reforms -- it also has maintained this dubious distinction while spending far more per capita ($8,508) on health care than Norway ($5,669), which has the second most expensive system.

"Although the U.S. spends more on health care than any other country and has the highest proportion of specialist physicians, survey findings indicate that from the patients’ perspective, and based on outcome indicators, the performance of American health care is severely lacking," the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based foundation that promotes improved health care, concluded in its extensive analysis. The charts in this post are from the report.

Once again, U.S. has most expensive, least effective health care system in survey


US healthcare system ranks 50th out of 55 countries for efficiency
US healthcare system ranks 50th out of 55 countries for efficiency


he U.S. healthcare system notched another dubious honor in a new comparison of its quality to the systems of 10 other developed countries: its rank was dead last.

The new study by the Commonwealth Fund ranks the U.S. against seven wealthy European countries and Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It's a follow-up of previous surveys published in 2010, 2007, 2006 and 2004, in all of which the U.S. also ranked last.

Although the U.S. ranked in the middle of the pack on measures of effectiveness, safety and coordination of care, it ranked dead last on access and cost, by a sufficient margin to rank dead last overall. The breakdowns are in the chart above.

Conservative pundits hastened to explain away these results after the report was published. See Aaron Carroll for a gloss on the "zombie arguments" put forth against the clear evidence that the U.S. system falls short.

The U.S. healthcare system: worst in the developed world

U.S. Health Care Ranked Worst in the Developed World
U.S. Health Care Ranked Worst in the Developed World

 

[Spare_change]

Americans carry many different forms of insurance. There’s car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, even pet insurance . . . Most of these insurance policies work well and are fairly priced. But there is one glaring exception: health insurance. Only health insurance becomes more complicated and more expensive at the same time. So, the obvious question is: why?

To answer this question, we have to start at the beginning. What is insurance? It’s pretty straight-forward: You pay a monthly fee which provides financial protection against unforeseen, sometimes catastrophic, events. People buy homeowners insurance, for example, to protect themselves from the financial loss incurred in the event of a fire, a flood or theft. Because millions of people are paying into the insurance pool, the pool has enough money to cover the unlucky person whose house does burn down.

And since insurance is meant to share risk, it only stands to reason that higher-risk individuals have to pay more to be insured. Someone who has had two accidents is going to pay more for car insurance than someone who has never had an accident. Why? Because their track record indicates they are more likely to have another accident.

But while insurance provides a bulwark against unforeseen loss, it does not protect against routine expenses. Car insurance protects you in the event that you wind up in a car wreck or your vehicle is stolen, but it doesn’t cover routine maintenance like oil changes, replacing brake pads or tire erosion. Why? Because everyone needs routine oil changes, new brake pads, and new tires. So, there is no risk to protect against.

Health insurance in America works very differently. Many of us have health insurance plans that aren’t insurance at all. They’re really pre-paid health care plans. They cover routine check-ups, less serious illnesses, and recurring expenses like prescription medications in addition to protecting you from a health disaster. All of this has made healthcare much more expensive and complex than any other form of insurance. That is true whether you get your insurance through your employer, through the government, or if you pay for your own plan.

The Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, was passed on the promise that it would fix these issues and bring down healthcare costs. But it has actually made the problem much worse.

First, it limited the variety of health insurance plans private companies could offer. It did this by mandating that every plan had to cover the same set of ten health benefits, including preventive care, maternity care, mental health care, and contraception.

Second, Obamacare prevented insurers from charging premiums based on the risk they were assuming. A person with a much higher risk of getting sick couldn’t be charged more than a person with a much lower chance.

These two aspects of Obamacare – requiring all policies to have certain coverages and not allowing insurance companies to charge more for riskier clients – caused the price of insurance to rise dramatically. In Arizona, for example, the price more than doubled between 2016 and 2017 alone.

So, how do we undo this mess?

By making health insurance more like, well, insurance.

First, stop making people buy plans that include things they won’t use and don’t want. Second, allow health insurers to offer more options at different prices. Do these two things and you’d make health insurance a lot more affordable for a lot more people.

And what about people with pre-existing conditions for whom every insurance plan is just too expensive? We do what any compassionate society does: we make sure they get the medical care they need. But we don’t need to upset the whole concept of insurance and make healthcare more expensive for everyone else to do it.

Most Americans want to do the responsible thing and insure themselves against catastrophic health care emergencies. But with health insurance costs rising every year, being responsible is becoming more difficult.

Why Is Health Insurance so Complicated?

it is more expensive here because in america caregivers have a profit motive. how many billions in profit do insurers need to make?

Profit motive? Interesting choice of words ....

Let's talk about that .... your supposition is that because doctors want to make money, the cost of healthcare unnecessarily rises, right? I mean - they want money for a bigger house, a better car, a nice retirement, right? Those mean bastards!

Makes me wonder .... in countries with socialized medicine, why do doctors do it? Do they do it because they want to get paid? Do they want a bigger house, a better car, a nice retirement? But, that's okay, right?

In reality, what you actually want is to divert the money caregivers would make into government coffers. The real question is: Why?

 

[Spare_change]

Yeah --- kinda like the grocer who sells food to the guy who sells you gas so you can go to work to get the money to pay those people are "making money off people's misery".

Do people go bankrupt trying to pay for groceries and gas?

Yes.

Next question.

 

[Zander]

The medical industrial insurance complex keeps prices artificially high. It's a complex and highly evolved con game.

Last week two new cures for cancer were announced

One cost $5.00 (yep, FIVE BUCKS!) and can be completed with just a needle and a syringe and a steady hand. Here is a link to the study- Development of enhanced ethanol ablation as an alternative to surgery in treatment of superficial solid tumors

The other "FDA Approved" cure cost $475,000. FDA approval brings first gene therapy to the United States

Of course, major news sources buried the five-dollar cancer cure and extolled the half-million dollar one.

Guess which one will be accepted as the "standard of care"?

 

[Mr Natural]

Yeah --- kinda like the grocer who sells food to the guy who sells you gas so you can go to work to get the money to pay those people are "making money off people's misery".

Do people go bankrupt trying to pay for groceries and gas?

Yes.

Next question.

That must be some mighty expensive gas and groceries they're buying.

Try again. Maybe this time try a little perspective.

 

[dblack]

Americans carry many different forms of insurance. There’s car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, even pet insurance . . . Most of these insurance policies work well and are fairly priced. But there is one glaring exception: health insurance. Only health insurance becomes more complicated and more expensive at the same time. So, the obvious question is: why?

To answer this question, we have to start at the beginning. What is insurance? It’s pretty straight-forward: You pay a monthly fee which provides financial protection against unforeseen, sometimes catastrophic, events. People buy homeowners insurance, for example, to protect themselves from the financial loss incurred in the event of a fire, a flood or theft. Because millions of people are paying into the insurance pool, the pool has enough money to cover the unlucky person whose house does burn down.

And since insurance is meant to share risk, it only stands to reason that higher-risk individuals have to pay more to be insured. Someone who has had two accidents is going to pay more for car insurance than someone who has never had an accident. Why? Because their track record indicates they are more likely to have another accident.

But while insurance provides a bulwark against unforeseen loss, it does not protect against routine expenses. Car insurance protects you in the event that you wind up in a car wreck or your vehicle is stolen, but it doesn’t cover routine maintenance like oil changes, replacing brake pads or tire erosion. Why? Because everyone needs routine oil changes, new brake pads, and new tires. So, there is no risk to protect against.

Health insurance in America works very differently. Many of us have health insurance plans that aren’t insurance at all. They’re really pre-paid health care plans. They cover routine check-ups, less serious illnesses, and recurring expenses like prescription medications in addition to protecting you from a health disaster. All of this has made healthcare much more expensive and complex than any other form of insurance. That is true whether you get your insurance through your employer, through the government, or if you pay for your own plan.

The Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, was passed on the promise that it would fix these issues and bring down healthcare costs. But it has actually made the problem much worse.

First, it limited the variety of health insurance plans private companies could offer. It did this by mandating that every plan had to cover the same set of ten health benefits, including preventive care, maternity care, mental health care, and contraception.

Second, Obamacare prevented insurers from charging premiums based on the risk they were assuming. A person with a much higher risk of getting sick couldn’t be charged more than a person with a much lower chance.

These two aspects of Obamacare – requiring all policies to have certain coverages and not allowing insurance companies to charge more for riskier clients – caused the price of insurance to rise dramatically. In Arizona, for example, the price more than doubled between 2016 and 2017 alone.

So, how do we undo this mess?

By making health insurance more like, well, insurance.

First, stop making people buy plans that include things they won’t use and don’t want. Second, allow health insurers to offer more options at different prices. Do these two things and you’d make health insurance a lot more affordable for a lot more people.

And what about people with pre-existing conditions for whom every insurance plan is just too expensive? We do what any compassionate society does: we make sure they get the medical care they need. But we don’t need to upset the whole concept of insurance and make healthcare more expensive for everyone else to do it.

Most Americans want to do the responsible thing and insure themselves against catastrophic health care emergencies. But with health insurance costs rising every year, being responsible is becoming more difficult.

Why Is Health Insurance so Complicated?

It's amazing how such obvious truth evades so many of us.

 

[dblack]

Why?

Because it can be.

What are you going to do, not get that life saving operation because it costs too much?

Believe it or not, yes. In fact, that's a dilemma many of will face. Should you blow the family fortune to squeeze out another year or two? Or leave a sane legacy?

 

[dblack]

Why?

Because it can be.

What are you going to do, not get that life saving operation because it costs too much?

which is why in most civilized countries health care is not a for-profit concern.

Do they deliberately run their health care system at a loss? Why?