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Originally Posted by willravel
Well compare the US to France. They get the best healthcare in the world bar none (according to the WHO). Bar none, and they spend a little over half of what we spend... and they manage to make it available for everyone. That's the conclusion I draw.
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apple and oranges. First, French women are o.k. with the natural aging of their breasts. Americans spend billions on cosmetic health treatments. Second, Joe Six Pack ( I ain't talking about abs) would not dream of walking - lifestyle in America plays a big part in how much we spend on health care. Like I said be careful of the conclusions drawn from the data on per-capita health care spending or health care spending as a percentage of GDP.
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Originally Posted by tecoyah
Until we can manage to control the insurance company profit machine....there will never be affordable healthcare in the U.S.
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Don't forget about the AMA and their lobbing and other efforts to control the availability of people who can administer medical treatment professionally. I would suggest that medical care will never go down in price unless the supply of medical providers increases or viable alternatives are available.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are another reason why costs are so high. First there are the unfair judgements and then we have the unintended consequence of defensive medicine and doctors going from high risk areas of medicine to lower risk areas - Obstetricians are very hard to find in some communities and so are midwifes