Why are American Health Care Costs so high?

[EvolveOrConvolve]

Some of the comments are truly mind-blowing. After listening to 7+ minutes of evidence to the contrary, there are still dumb assholes who think this is a "big government" problem that can be fixed by more "free market".

[DeSwiss]

1. Maybe the solution is competition.

That's what Capitalist's claim, right? So why not allow countries like Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland and Australia to offer hip replacements, heart by-passes and all those other medical goodies that buys all those golf clubs and yachts, to sickly Americans like they do with that other junk they sell us? You know, the BMWs and Volvos and such.

I'm sure the flight fare and nursing home recovery costs can be borne abroad or here in the US once the patient can travel. Most insurance companies in the US want to throw you out of the hospital as quick as they can anyway. So a $13K hip replacement in Oz plus a six month's lease in a Sydney apartment or a stay at a nursing home there until you can travel still would be cheaper than a $100K hip replacement here. The insurance companies would love it! As long as the premiums didn't change.

- I'd bet you'd see the prices flying down so fast theyll be putting heart bypass and hip replacement coupons in your corn flakes box.

K&R



GMO Micro-RNA is floating in your blood and liver right now.

[YOHABLO]

2. Very Informative! But who is Hank?

[Blanks]

3. Seemed kind if like Vern...

From the old Earnest commercials.

[Thinkingabout]

4. Medicare does not negotiate well for devices like wheel chairs paying over $100

A month to rent one when the cost to purchase is under $400 for a normal wheel chair.
Too many insurance companies getting too much for insurance which does not go for healthcare. We pay much too much for pharmacy, more than other countries for the same pill which is much higher here. Too much money goes for lobby and Congressional members which should be going for real health care.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. We spend twice as much per person for health care outcomes that are second world at best

because we spend most of our money near the end of life on futile expensive care for diseases that could be prevented for pennies. This ius because private insurers have no incentive to invest in disease prevention since they know that once you are old and sick you will be the government's problem. And meanwhile, Big Pharm and the Medical Indsutrial Complex have no incentive to encourage the government to invest in prevention because they make money off the years of neglect.

This is what profit driven medicine gets you---it makes more people more money for us to be sick when we are 65 than it does for us to be healthy. And so, no one has any incentive to spend time or money trying to keep us healthy.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. Why are costs so high?