British Fear American-Style Health Care

[InTheLight]

Furthermore, in health systems with lower costs at the point of service, an individual is not economically deterred from seeking early treatment. In the US, many of us have to "wait it out" to see if the condition passes because the treatment is too expensive. In these cases, we are essentially gambling with our health.

I call this action of delaying treatment "self rationing of health care." So you see, we already have rationing of health care here in the U.S. and it's not being done by the government, it's being done by individuals in response to the high cost of insurance and treatment.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Another data point:

Do Americans have access to a greater supply of health care resources? Surprisingly, Americans have access to fewer health care resources than people in most other OECD countries, measured in three major categories: hospital beds per capita, physicians and nurses per capita, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners per capita.

The number of hospital beds per capita in the United States was in the bottom quartile of OECD countries in 2002 (Exhibit 2Go). Also, the number of U.S. physicians per capita (2.4) was below the OECD median of 3.1 in 2002. However, the growth rate in the number of U.S. physicians per capita between 1992 and 2002 exceeded the growth rate of the OECD median. Despite this growth, the United States still had fewer physicians per capita than the OECD median in 2002.

The supply of nurses was lower in the United States than the OECD median, and it grew at half the rate of the OECD median of 1.3 percent per year between 1992 and 2002. One area where the United States exceeded the OECD median was the nurse staffing level in acute care hospitals. In 2002 there were 1.4 nurses per U.S. hospital bed, compared with the OECD median of 1.0 nurses per bed.

High-technology medical equipment is frequently cited as the main driver of escalating health spending.10 Although the United States tends to be an early adopter of medical technologies, it does not acquire medical technology at high levels once the technology has diffused widely.11

Although the United States has a relatively low supply of these health care resources, they may be used more efficiently than in other countries. For example, lengths of hospital stay are generally shorter and more intensive, and CT and MRI scanners may be used more frequently than in other countries. The greater intensity of care could explain why the United States has fewer health care resources and pays higher prices for their use.

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/4/903.full

 

[mcdirector]

Can you ever remember a time when we weren't the envy of every other nation? O how far we have fallen in 2 short years. God bless the republic.

Unfortunately we haven't been the envy of every other nation in any regard for quite some time. This has taken much longer than 2 years - much longer.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Not necessarily, there are major disparities within the US health system (a well as within others). We have the best resources here, but it doesn't mean that every person or every region enjoys them. Some are concentrated in major metropolitan areas.

Additionally, although our "best" might be better than their "best," that doesn't mean that the median level of care is any worse. For instance, try getting non-emergency care when you can't afford the deductible.

Furthermore, in health systems with lower costs at the point of service, an individual is not economically deterred from seeking early treatment. In the US, many of us have to "wait it out" to see if the condition passes because the treatment is too expensive. In these cases, we are essentially gambling with our health.

I will use my health plan as an example. When the new fiscal year starts, we will be paying over $500 per month for family coverage. My employer is adding around a thousand more per month. We are paying over $18,000 per year. What do we get? A $1500 per person deductible!

To drop the deductible to $500, we would have to pay around $300 more per month.

We cannot pursue an option in the individual market, as the benefits are even worse, the cost is post-tax, and pre-existing condition exclusions greatly reduce the utility of the insurance policy.

This is simply unsustainable. I don't believe for one minute that the health reform will do anything to substantively change the problems in the system. Something needs to be done, however.

My dear father in law is / was a construction worker in NJ. When my lovely wife was born in 1957, dad went downstairs in Passaic General & ponied up $800.00 cash for the doctor, the procedure & the room. you knew that was the cost, you could plan for it in advance, it was considered costly but was affordable to the average family & it didnt break the bank. What the heck happened in 50 years?

 

[InTheLight]

My dear father in law is / was a construction worker in NJ. When my lovely wife was born in 1957, dad went downstairs in Passaic General & ponied up $800.00 cash for the doctor, the procedure & the room. you knew that was the cost, you could plan for it in advance, it was considered costly but was affordable to the average family & it didnt break the bank. What the heck happened in 50 years?

Health insurance became widely available through work and people got used to the idea of going to the doctor for free, or with minimal copays. There were times in the 70's and 80's where the direct cost of health care was zero. Yes, there were deductions taken out of your paycheck but you never paid any health care entity directly.

Then as health insurance costs increased the benefits paid by employer sponsored programs began declining. Throw in the problem of people not being insured and defaulting on their bills and also illegal immigrants using our services and here we are today.

 

[mandym]

Insurance was never intended to be there for everyone to go to the doctor for every little sniffle. Over and unnecessary use add to insurance costs. We over doctor ourselves. Law suits certainly come into play with insurance costs.

 

[StefanM]

Insurance was never intended to be there for everyone to go to the doctor for every little sniffle. Over and unnecessary use add to insurance costs. We over doctor ourselves. Law suits certainly come into play with insurance costs.

I agree with you on lawsuits, but which has the potential to cost more: overuse of basic services or delay of early treatment that results in catastrophic, emergency treatment later?