- Dec 17, 2010
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HEALTHCARE: Many Americans are not aware that they are paying double for healthcare and not getting universal coverage. (Hard data below - but I've got to get through the introductory concepts).
DRUGS: The war on drugs makes them pay about 5 times as much for jails, and who can estimate all the extra policing and legal costs?
Estimates are that America would save $1 to $1.5 TRILLION ANNUALLY if they nationalised healthcare. Note - I'm NOT saying "Medicare for all" or whatever you call expanding your current fragmented, bloated, privatised, overly expensive system. That system must be nationalised by legislative decree.
Not every hospital - there will still be some private healthcare and some private insurance for those extras. Australia has private healthcare insurance and private hospitals.
But we have a massive public health system. When my son got cancer 20 something years ago - we practically lived in that hospital for 6 months. All pretty much free! I had to take my own meals in or buy the café food whatever - but the medical care my son received cost maybe $250,000. The government paid it. But here's the thing. America's fractured healthcare system drives up costs. Australia's Federal government pays half - and the States the other. In some areas the States rock up to the marketplace and can command significant economies of scale. When the FEDERAL government purchases pharmaceuticals it can really command some savings!
So in America - I'm guessing saving my son's life would have cost at least $500,000! Oh - and I would have had a nervous breakdown trying to get the health insurer to pay. Or had to sell my house to hire the lawyer to make them! It seems the private hospital CEO gets his next yacht before my son gets to live. But if it's nationalised - the hospital CEO becomes a public servant. They cannot grab shares in the hospital or command the same unfair and crazy perks. It's still a great salary! But not insane.
The following conclusions come from The Commonwealth Fund - a US think tank exploring GLOBAL trends in healthcare and comparing them to the USA. They conclude:-
The American fiscal studies foundation - the Peter Peterson foundation - concluded: “U.S. healthcare spending per capita is almost twice the average of other wealthy countries”
How Does the U.S. Healthcare System Compare to Other Countries?
"For example, the average cost in the U.S. for an MRI scan was $1,119, compared to $811 in New Zealand, $215 in Australia and $181 in Spain. However, data showed that 95th percentile in the price of this procedure in the U.S. was $3,031, meaning some people are paying nearly $3,000 more for a standard MRI scan in the U.S. than the average person in Australia and Spain. "
6 Reasons Healthcare Is So Expensive in the U.S.
VOX explains what went wrong.
Check the wiki studies and try and prove all the sources are ‘Communists’ if you must!
Healthcare in the United States - Wikipedia
Even British Comedian and activist Stephen Fry agrees!
When you limit supply, you drive up the price.
The high price creates an IRRESISTABLE incentive for drug cartels to grow.
They now rival huge corporations or some militaries and have their own engineers.
They build tunnels and even submarines!
COST TO AMERICA
The USA has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s inmates.
That's 5 times the jails! How much does that cost in extra policing, legal cases, court time - let alone the penal system?
Are Americans really 5 times more criminal than the rest of the world?
No - they are suffering from a failed drug criminalisation scheme.
Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries - Wikipedia
An estimated 65% percent of the United States prison population has an active drug habit.
nida.nih.gov
2007 shows drug related crime cost $113 billion.
nida.nih.gov
IF WE CANNOT BAN IT - THEN WHAT?
Convert the ‘War on Drugs’ into a mental health model. Decriminalise drug use.
The Penrose Effect shows that there is an inverse relationship between the availability of mental health treatment infrastructure and incarceration rates. Countries investing more in mental health services often experience lower incarceration rates, suggesting that addressing mental health can reduce the burden on the criminal justice system. The Penrose Effect and its acceleration by the war on drugs: a crisis of untranslated neuroscience and untreated addiction and mental illness - Translational Psychiatry
If cops catch a user - they take the user to mental health services.
Eradicate illegal supply by undermining the market! Provide safe injecting rooms! Clinics supply regulated, cleaner, safer drugs that reduce overdoses. Why rob a corner store or sell yourself for prostitution when you can get drugs for free? Also on hand - free medical check-ups, free counselling, contact with social workers if they need housing, etc. Data from overseas shows that it massively reduces the burden on police, courts, jails - and actually helps give users a sense of dignity and helps many become drug free and deal with their problems and return to functional members of society with jobs and a purpose.
So - war on drugs to help the cartels grow? Or war on a silly policy that takes people with a mental health condition - and throws them in jail and gives them a REAL education in becoming a criminal?
DRUGS: The war on drugs makes them pay about 5 times as much for jails, and who can estimate all the extra policing and legal costs?
Healthcare
Estimates are that America would save $1 to $1.5 TRILLION ANNUALLY if they nationalised healthcare. Note - I'm NOT saying "Medicare for all" or whatever you call expanding your current fragmented, bloated, privatised, overly expensive system. That system must be nationalised by legislative decree.
Not every hospital - there will still be some private healthcare and some private insurance for those extras. Australia has private healthcare insurance and private hospitals.
But we have a massive public health system. When my son got cancer 20 something years ago - we practically lived in that hospital for 6 months. All pretty much free! I had to take my own meals in or buy the café food whatever - but the medical care my son received cost maybe $250,000. The government paid it. But here's the thing. America's fractured healthcare system drives up costs. Australia's Federal government pays half - and the States the other. In some areas the States rock up to the marketplace and can command significant economies of scale. When the FEDERAL government purchases pharmaceuticals it can really command some savings!
So in America - I'm guessing saving my son's life would have cost at least $500,000! Oh - and I would have had a nervous breakdown trying to get the health insurer to pay. Or had to sell my house to hire the lawyer to make them! It seems the private hospital CEO gets his next yacht before my son gets to live. But if it's nationalised - the hospital CEO becomes a public servant. They cannot grab shares in the hospital or command the same unfair and crazy perks. It's still a great salary! But not insane.
The following conclusions come from The Commonwealth Fund - a US think tank exploring GLOBAL trends in healthcare and comparing them to the USA. They conclude:-
- Health care spending, both per person and as a share of GDP, continues to be far higher in the United States than in other high-income countries. Yet the U.S. is the only country that doesn’t have universal health coverage.
- The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates.
- The U.S. has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions and an obesity rate nearly twice the OECD average.
- Americans see physicians less often than people in most other countries and have among the lowest rate of practicing physicians and hospital beds per 1,000 population.
- Screening rates for breast and colorectal cancer and vaccination for flu in the U.S. are among the highest, but COVID-19 vaccination trails many nations.
The American fiscal studies foundation - the Peter Peterson foundation - concluded: “U.S. healthcare spending per capita is almost twice the average of other wealthy countries”
How Does the U.S. Healthcare System Compare to Other Countries?
"For example, the average cost in the U.S. for an MRI scan was $1,119, compared to $811 in New Zealand, $215 in Australia and $181 in Spain. However, data showed that 95th percentile in the price of this procedure in the U.S. was $3,031, meaning some people are paying nearly $3,000 more for a standard MRI scan in the U.S. than the average person in Australia and Spain. "
6 Reasons Healthcare Is So Expensive in the U.S.
VOX explains what went wrong.
Healthcare in the United States - Wikipedia
Even British Comedian and activist Stephen Fry agrees!
The War on Drugs has failed
It's been going for decades and getting the same result. Why?When you limit supply, you drive up the price.
The high price creates an IRRESISTABLE incentive for drug cartels to grow.
They now rival huge corporations or some militaries and have their own engineers.
They build tunnels and even submarines!
COST TO AMERICA
The USA has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s inmates.
That's 5 times the jails! How much does that cost in extra policing, legal cases, court time - let alone the penal system?
Are Americans really 5 times more criminal than the rest of the world?
No - they are suffering from a failed drug criminalisation scheme.
Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries - Wikipedia
An estimated 65% percent of the United States prison population has an active drug habit.
Criminal Justice DrugFacts | National Institute on Drug Abuse
Looks at the challenges with substance use disorders (SUDs) among people in the criminal justice system, and why treatment and follow up is important for inmates.
Trends & Statistics | National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIDA uses multiple sources to monitor the prevalence and trends regarding drug use in the United States. The resources cover a variety of drug-related issues, including information on drug use, emergency room data, prevention and treatment programs, and other research findings.
IF WE CANNOT BAN IT - THEN WHAT?
Convert the ‘War on Drugs’ into a mental health model. Decriminalise drug use.
The Penrose Effect shows that there is an inverse relationship between the availability of mental health treatment infrastructure and incarceration rates. Countries investing more in mental health services often experience lower incarceration rates, suggesting that addressing mental health can reduce the burden on the criminal justice system. The Penrose Effect and its acceleration by the war on drugs: a crisis of untranslated neuroscience and untreated addiction and mental illness - Translational Psychiatry
If cops catch a user - they take the user to mental health services.
Eradicate illegal supply by undermining the market! Provide safe injecting rooms! Clinics supply regulated, cleaner, safer drugs that reduce overdoses. Why rob a corner store or sell yourself for prostitution when you can get drugs for free? Also on hand - free medical check-ups, free counselling, contact with social workers if they need housing, etc. Data from overseas shows that it massively reduces the burden on police, courts, jails - and actually helps give users a sense of dignity and helps many become drug free and deal with their problems and return to functional members of society with jobs and a purpose.
So - war on drugs to help the cartels grow? Or war on a silly policy that takes people with a mental health condition - and throws them in jail and gives them a REAL education in becoming a criminal?
