Prescription for bad health policy
Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Opinion
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For the average American, unexpected medical bills are among the leading causes of bankruptcy. Expenses incurred while at the hospital can be enormous. Moreover, because of heavy regulation and pandering to insurance companies (of which there are more here than any other country in the world), the cost of prescription drugs is astronomical.
The road to better health is not for the frugal-minded. In fact, many Americans say the cost of a medical procedure is the leading reason why they don't regularly visit their doctor.
For a country that spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world, it's often confusing why the U.S. shouldn't have the most impressive health care system in the world. The United States is not even ranked in the top five. The reason being is that mismanaged government regulation and bureaucratic overhead actually costs twice as much as it doles out in benefits.
Studies from the Harvard Medical School suggest that more than 31 percent of health care dollars (equal to $1,000 per person per year) were provided simply to cover administrative overhead. Meanwhile, citizens of Canada enjoy cheaper drugs and a publicly funded health care system that costs less than half.
It isn't just our neighbor to the North. Throughout most of the industrialized world, the subject of health care is addressed by economists - not citizens. While the costs of maintaining extensive programs are constantly wrangled by their governments, ordinary people have little concern. They are secure within publicly funded health care system provided by their governments. This is true for anyone living in Europe and most of the Pacific Rim.
The fact is that our country is inflated with insurance companies. Combined with the cost of medical malpractice suits, Food and Drug Administration regulations and facility regulations, it costs more for us to run a private-sector health care system than it does for any other country to maintain their universal coverage.
The road to better health is not for the frugal-minded. In fact, many Americans say the cost of a medical procedure is the leading reason why they don't regularly visit their doctor.
For a country that spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world, it's often confusing why the U.S. shouldn't have the most impressive health care system in the world. The United States is not even ranked in the top five. The reason being is that mismanaged government regulation and bureaucratic overhead actually costs twice as much as it doles out in benefits.
Studies from the Harvard Medical School suggest that more than 31 percent of health care dollars (equal to $1,000 per person per year) were provided simply to cover administrative overhead. Meanwhile, citizens of Canada enjoy cheaper drugs and a publicly funded health care system that costs less than half.
It isn't just our neighbor to the North. Throughout most of the industrialized world, the subject of health care is addressed by economists - not citizens. While the costs of maintaining extensive programs are constantly wrangled by their governments, ordinary people have little concern. They are secure within publicly funded health care system provided by their governments. This is true for anyone living in Europe and most of the Pacific Rim.
The fact is that our country is inflated with insurance companies. Combined with the cost of medical malpractice suits, Food and Drug Administration regulations and facility regulations, it costs more for us to run a private-sector health care system than it does for any other country to maintain their universal coverage.
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