nun
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,872
Is eliminating medical services really addressing the underlying issue of cost? If so, health service costs could be brought to zero by eliminating all medical services at which time everyone could be covered.
Sure, not paying for gastric bands on the NHS would reduce overall cost, whether that should happen is another issue. The UK already bargains with drug companies and doctors (who are often self employed) just as US insurance companies do, so that should hold down costs. I just don't know why the US insurance companies and hospitals are so bad a holding down costs. Is it the demand from the patient for unnecessary tests, the fear of the doctor from being sued so they do unnecessary tests, the near monopoly and easy profits or the way we have become disconnected with our immortality so that a liver transplant might be given to a terminal cancer patient. These are very difficult issues and I don't think the US is facing them like the UK and other European and Asian countries are.
The US spends about 2x as much per capita on health care as European countries, yet we live shorter lives. Obviously the US system isn't working and it hasn't been copied by any other country. The thing that stops us from getting a better system in arrogance. Surely we could learn from other countries and come up with a better system. Some day soon we'll have to.