Health Care

A great post on the health care debate in the US from: Enough with the wait times, already | The Incidental Economist

I find the same issue when I talk to anyone about US health care. Most people agree its too costly but almost everyone is afraid to make any changes. The usual arguments are, the wait times, (always followed by "My brother, cousin, mother,.. knows someone from Canada...."), and the "We have the best healthcare in the world why change that" argument (usually followed by "My brother, cousin, mother,.. knows someone from Canada...."). No one every has any facts, just vague statements. The post above has some good facts...

Here's my argument.

1. We pay a lot more for our health care than the rest of the developed world. Not a little more, a LOT more.

US Per Capita Health care costs. We're #1

US Health Care costs as percent of GDP - we're #1

Health Care Costs


2. Our health care is not significantly better than the rest of the developed world.

Health Care Quality - many good comparisons

Life Expectancy US. We're #36

Infant Mortality - We're #33


So we're not the best and we pay a lot more for what we get. We're not getting our money's worth. We need a change.

TNB