by Odd Man Out
I’m shocked by this story. You would think our drugs would be more effective, they cost so much more than the same drugs in civilized countries:
A study of 13 industrialized countries released Thursday showed Japan spends the least on health care, while the United States spends the most without providing superior care for the money.
The United States spent nearly $8,000 per person in 2009 on health care services, more than Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden or Switzerland.
Japan spent the least — $2,878 per capita in 2008 — according to the report by The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that promotes improved health care in the United States.
US health care spending amounted to more than 17 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, while Japan’s was under nine percent of GDP.
“Japan operates a fee-for-service system, while offering unrestricted access to specialists and hospitals and a large supply of MRI and CT scanners,” said the report.
“Rather than containing costs by restricting access, Japan instead sets health care prices to keep total health spending within a budget allotted by the government.”
In contrast, the US system is beleaguered by higher prices, more readily accessible technology and widespread obesity.
The United States had among the highest rates of potentially preventable deaths due to asthma and diabetes-linked amputations, and showed average rates of in-hospital deaths from heart attack and stroke, it said.
Common prescription drugs cost one third more in the United States compared to Canada and Germany, and were more than double that paid for the same drugs in Australia, Britain, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
Not surprising at all, Odd Man Out.
Just bought my new healthcare policy after being without for a year. I have only gone to the doctor to continue treatment for hypertension as a woman my age cannot go without that (or anyone for that matter.)
But, in the past year, no complete physicals or check ups. None of the recommended screenings.
I know that their are plenty in the same boat. I have always been good about preventative care up until now.
Preventive care is so important. It is scary that it is so expensive.
For profit health care is always more expensive than government price controlled health care. Always. For profit anything is always more expensive than price controlled everything. (Even when you allow for corruption.) Simply adding the profit makes that a fact. That’s why Capitalism is the worst possible economic system ever devised by man except for slavery. Then again isn’t Capitalism just another way of saying slavery?