Why does the U.S. have a poor healthcare system?

[45408]

So it's the delivery costs for MRIs and da Vincis that are driving health care. Gotcha.

Who knows? Maybe serenade is right:

MRI Scanners:

Your images don't work.


Why would I continue this argument when you continue to distort my words? No, it's not the delivery costs of an MRI, although it probably costs over a million to install.

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[Spinach Dip]

Or maybe not.

MRI Exams:

Did you REALLY just compare the US to Greece, and say things aren't so bad?

 

[Gut Shot]

Why would I continue this argument when you continue to distort my words?

Well, serenade says stuff, then you say stuff, then I say stuff to serenade, then you say stuff like I'm saying stuff to you but I'm really saying said stuff to serenade... I dunno. You tell me.

 

[thesauce]

Health and health care aren't the same thing. That is something that economists/public health people say over and over but doctors don't like to hear. After all, doctors pride themselves on helping patients but the truth is that their patient's health depends a lot more on the patient's choices of diet, exercise, even spirituality, than on whether their doctor does a good job or not.

So when you're talking about health care its important not to get obsessed with comparing the health of the population and assuming that the differences are a byproduct of differences in health care. For instance, blacks have worse health than whites in the US in general but they also have less education, are discriminated against, and are more likely to have a terrible diet (and probably to smoke). I don't think much of the black-white gap in health has to do with how often they see an M.D. and how good the care is.

Anyway, that said, the statistic most people like to cite on how American health care is terrible relative to in Europe is that white people in the US have 5.2ish infant deaths per 1000 births and European countries range from 3.0 to 5.2ish. So the US is one of the worst if not the worst on the most critical thing medicine does. (Medicine has only really reduced mortality two ways in the past 50 years, treating heart disease at the end of life and reducing child mortality at the beginning of life. The rest of the gain in life expectancy are from better nutrition, vaccines, antibiotics, clean water, and not smoking.)

First off, docs know and accept that we can't control everything our patients do. I don't really consider it an unfortunate thing either.

Secondly, we've already addressed the infant mortality issue. It has to do with the US having 10-20x the number of premature births for no clear reason.

Lastly, medicine has reduced mortality in MANY other ways over the past 50 years. In oncology alone, I can name dozens of chemo, radiation, and surgery trials showing a survival benefit. You're dead wrong.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

First off, docs know and accept that we can't control everything our patients do. I don't really consider it an unfortunate thing either.

Secondly, we've already addressed the infant mortality issue. It has to do with the US having 10-20x the number of premature births for no clear reason.

Lastly, medicine has reduced mortality in MANY other ways over the past 50 years. In oncology alone, I can name dozens of chemo, radiation, and surgery trials showing a survival benefit. You're dead wrong.

Are there any theories?

 

[notbobtrustme]

Medicine has only really reduced mortality two ways in the past 50 years, treating heart disease at the end of life and reducing child mortality at the beginning of life. The rest of the gain in life expectancy are from better nutrition, vaccines, antibiotics, clean water, and not smoking.

I wanted to point out that the US has worse outcomes even though we have one of the lowest smoking rates of the developed world.

All this beating around the bush with respect to healthcare outcomes is missing the crucial point. We can make excuses for this and that statistic, but on the entire face, the one major fact still remains. We are the only developed nation on earth where you can be denied coverage, go bankrupt from medical costs and be generally ****-out-of-luck for no other reason other than bad luck and misfortune. And that's one of the major drivers for the disparities in health.

 

[NickNaylor]

I wanted to point out that the US has worse outcomes even though we have one of the lowest smoking rates of the developed world.

All this beating around the bush with respect to healthcare outcomes is missing the crucial point. We can make excuses for this and that statistic, but on the entire face, the one major fact still remains. We are the only developed nation on earth where you can be denied coverage, go bankrupt from medical costs and be generally ****-out-of-luck for no other reason other than bad luck and misfortune. And that's one of the major drivers for the disparities in health.

True, but I think it's critically important that we accept that, for most people, healthcare in the US is the best in the world. It may not be the cheapest, but in no other place do people have as much access to cutting edge treatments and the most advanced technology with respect to diagnostic testing. There is a reason why those with means come to the US from abroad to receive treatment for difficult diseases, cancer probably being the best example.

Unfortunately those things come at a cost, and rather than reduce the quality of that care overall, we have elected instead to maintain that quality while giving the poor and underserved the shaft. Obviously we can't change one without changing the other, but I think our focus should be on finding ways to cover the remaining 10-20% of people that don't have adequate healthcare coverage or access rather than working to reinvent the wheel. Things like mandated minimum benefits for insurance plans, a government offered insurance plan for people that are simply too expensive to cover in the private market, and expanding insurance markets beyond state lines (with the necessary reform in Medicaid and other systems that would entail) would probably go a long way to solving that problem.

Rather than damning the entire system, we should instead focus on ways to get coverage to those who need it. I think people too quickly forget that those with excellent insurance coverage receive excellent medical care. The problem is getting access to that care to those who simply can't afford it - or at least a level of care that ensures people don't die or suffer incredible morbidity because of things that simply aren't that big of a deal anymore when treated.

(sent from my phone)

 

[gmcguitar4]

I think we should just like..pray more. Many studies conducted within my company have shown that patients who pray are 20% less likely to develop any disease and 86.23% more likely to acquire wealth.

 

[touchpause13]

I think we should just like..pray more. Many studies conducted within my company have shown that patients who pray are 20% less likely to develop any disease and 86.23% more likely to acquire wealth.

dont. just dont

Sent from my SCH-I405 using SDN Mobile

 

[cwrig14]

I think we should just like..pray more. Many studies conducted within my company have shown that patients who pray are 20% less likely to develop any disease and 86.23% more likely to acquire wealth.

My company conducted studies showing that being the banker in monopoly gives you a 73% greater chance of collecting 300$ as you pass go.
I have a goldfish.