Why does healthcare cost so much in America?

[mark46]

US healthcare is expensive because we pay for drug research. We pay the high prices for drugs. Other countries simply legislate prices so that their people don't pay.

We also have got rid of community health care centers which helped keep cost down in the past.

We specialize in extreme care for those at the end of life.

We also specialize in the cutting edge care.
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Make no mistake, we could do much better, especially with regard to better coverage for the poor, and in treatment if cronuc illness. Also, we would do well to streamline the process for approving new drugs. Finally, we could have a Medicare type system for everyone, certainly for those that the government pays for anyway (veterans and the poor).

 

[OldWiseGuy]

We have a relatively new huge hospital here (20 years or so old) that I don't believe can ever be fully paid for. For-profit hospitals pay property taxes as well, which must be enormous. If our roads and bridges are any indication we have built much more than we can possibly maintain. I learned that lesson when I put in a huge garden one year. All went well in the beginning but I was soon unable to keep up with it.

 

[bhsmte]

So our police and firefighters are uneducated high school dropouts? Who knew?

Firefighter and police are well paid, but are not in the field for the money. The pay, prestige, and lifestyle of being a 'doctor' is quite appealing however.

Police and firefighters don't leave school 300K in debt. They don't need 8 years of education beyond high school either, to even think about performing their profession.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Police and firefighters don't leave school 300K in debt. They don't need 8 years of education beyond high school either, to even think about performing their profession.

Which illustrates again the differences. Thanks.

Actually med school 'debt' is meaningless in the comparison as their education/knowledge has been purchased with that money. It's no different than my mortgage 'debt'. The asset value equals or exceeds the debt. Same with a medical degree, it's value grows beyond the debt. True 'debt' is money owed for an 'asset' that declines in value or had little or no monetary value to begin with.

 

[The Stamp]

US healthcare is expensive because we pay for drug research. We pay the high prices for drugs. Other countries simply legislate prices so that their people don't pay.
We also have got rid of community health care centers which helped keep cost down in the past.
We specialize in extreme care for those at the end of life.
We also specialize in the cutting edge care.
========
Make no mistake, we could do much better, especially with regard to better coverage for the poor, and in treatment if cronuc illness. Also, we would do well to streamline the process for approving new drugs. Finally, we could have a Medicare type system for everyone, certainly for those that the government pays for anyway (veterans and the poor).

You really have been brainwashed.
This is just one insurance company.........there are about 50 of them.......... UnitedHealth announced record-breaking profits in 2015, followed by an even better year this year. In July 2016, UnitedHealth celebrated revenues that quarter (3 months) totalling $46.5 billion, an increase of $10 billion since the same time last year. And company filings show that UnitedHealth’s CEO Stephen J. Hemsley made over $20 million in 2015. To be fair, that is a pay cut. The previous year, in 2014, Hemsley took home $66 million in compensation.

Source: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/new...hile-blaming-obamacare-for-losses-110116.html

 

[bhsmte]

Which illustrates again the differences. Thanks.

Actually med school 'debt' is meaningless in the comparison as their education/knowledge has been purchased with that money. It's no different than my mortgage 'debt'. The asset value equals or exceeds the debt. Same with a medical degree, it's value grows beyond the debt. True 'debt' is money owed for an 'asset' that declines in value or had little or no monetary value to begin with.

Debt is debt. The 300K, still has to be paid.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Debt is debt. The 300K, still has to be paid.

Of course. I had to payoff the mortgage loan as well. I paid $195,000 for my 8-unit (borrowed $150,000) and sold it for $330,000. The asset value never fell below the mortgage amount. The cumulative value of a med school education exceeds the loan amount as is confirmed by the lifetime earnings of most doctors. Even the average college grad will earn about $1Million more than a high school grad regardless of their student loan debt (and they gripe about the cost of higher education).

 

[bhsmte]

Of course. I had to payoff the mortgage loan as well. I paid $195,000 for my 8-unit (borrowed $150,000) and sold it for $330,000. The asset value never fell below the mortgage amount. The cumulative value of a med school education exceeds the loan amount as is confirmed by the lifetime earnings of most doctors. Even the average college grad will earn about $1Million more than a high school grad regardless of their student loan debt (and they gripe about the cost of higher education).

Do you agree obtaining skills that require 8 years of education after high school, plus another 2-4 years as a fellow in a certain speciality, would command a high salary?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Do you agree obtaining skills that require 8 years of education after high school, plus another 2-4 years as a fellow in a certain speciality, would command a high salary?

Of course, if it translates to services or products that benefit the general population. However that is only one aspect of the healthcare problem. The medical/insurance industry operates on a "whatever the market will bear" philosophy, which leaves many in the cold.

 

[bhsmte]

Of course, if it translates to services or products that benefit the general population. However that is only one aspect of the healthcare problem. The medical/insurance industry operates on a "whatever the market will bear" philosophy, which leaves many in the cold.

All capitalistic ventures operate on what the market will bear.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

All capitalistic ventures operate on what the market will bear.

How about Walmart? It seems to me that they and other 'big box' stores strive to keep prices low, and by doing so put many "whatever the market will bear" enterprises out of business.

 

[bhsmte]

How about Walmart? It seems to me that they and other 'big box' stores strive to keep prices low, and by doing so put many "whatever the market will bear" enterprises out of business.

That is why they go out of business, those stores cant compete with what the market will bear.