Why is health care so expensive?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic' started by truebluefan, Sep 14, 2014.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Advances in medical technology have made it possible to be born earlier and survive to a much older age. Time Magazine’s June 2 issue discusses the types of cutting edge medicine and dedicated care givers that help the tiniest of premature babies survive and thrive to the point that the survival rate of preemies born at 25 weeks is 76 percent. However, the March of Dimes calculates that babies born before 32 weeks gestation have an average hospital bill of $280,811. The Commonwealth Fund recently published a report on how the U.S. health care system compares with the industrialized nations of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranked last in measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and healthy lives. The U.S. ranks last on all three indicators of healthy lives — mortality amenable to medical care, infant mortality, and healthy life expectancy at age 60. The data from 2011 also shows that the U.S. spent $8,508 per person on health care, compared with $3,406 in the United Kingdom, which ranked first overall.

    It should not be a surprise that all 11 of these countries have universal health care coverage and had gone through the pains of their own versions of the “affordable care act” several years ago. Will the Affordable Care Act help lower these costs and improve these measures in the U.S? Universal and access will help, but it won’t solve all the issues. Behavioral changes to reduce the risks of chronic illness will also help. Wellness incentives offered by employers through their health plans have had a positive effect the past few years on their premium costs. But there is one very large driver of health care costs that most of us don’t want to think about, let alone talk about – end of life care.

    Read more http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/business/2014/09/14/health-care-expensive/15542343/
     

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