From Science News: Primary care visits available to most uninsured, but at a high price I'm a Yank living in France. My primary care visits cost not even $25, which is reimbursed to me. Along with all other attendant costs, for instance scans or blood tests, etc. Yes, I pay high-taxes here in France - much higher than you do in the US. But, like most of Europe, we have a National Healthcare System. Yes, it's expensive, but not nearly as costly in the US. Here the costs of visits, necessary tests, and surgery are all covered by the NHS. (As they are in all other European Union countries, because that is a sine-qua-non of joining.) Which means what? This:
Oupps, forgot to mention the most important. My French National Healthcare also covers surgical intervention if necessary ...
First, about your life expectancy chart - if you live til age 60 in the US your life expectancy is longer than just about any other country. The US takes in disproportionate numbers of third worlders, and along with the violence of the inner cities that other countries do not endure reduces an otherwise excellent US life expectancy. Second, the USA is the source of the balk of new drugs & therapies because of the relative "open" market. Here's a chart that demonstrates that socialized medicine has killed drug development over time for the lack of profit potential. Expect life expectancies to slack off if the US were to slouch towards Gomorrah. BTW, didn't they just purposely starve a man to death against his wishes in France to save on his health care costs? Thanks, but I'll pass on subjecting myself to death panels. Western Europe has a 50% higher population and a smaller GDP than the US. European socialism is a failure, and can't produce the wealth needed to keep a quadriplegic alive. Blech!
Doesn't matter as too difficult to compare Apple's to apples. Cheaper overall doesn't mean better or timely care.
Yet another data-point that you can refuse to understand, this one from the "Petersen-Kaiser - Health System Tracker" site. Go here: The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth among comparable countries The EU (which is the only statistical entity on earth with a comparable market-economy to the US) has no lack of Drug Development. Can't imagine where or how you came up with this inanity. For your edification (from the Scientific American): How the U.S. Pays 3 Times More for Drugs Excerpt: The man in question had been kept alive by medication upon the insistence of the parents. The total cost of which was born by the state - to the tune of 2M Euros. The man had no say in the matter (he was awake but could not talk or move), it was his parents who insisted (through the courts since the medical authorities were insisting to stop the medication that was useless). His wife did not want to see him "suffer any longer in the void". (Her words.) First of all, there is no such thing as Socialism in Europe. Your expression above is typical of Yanks who have no idea whatsoever regarding alternative political systems. (If you want to find "socialism" somewhere, you might try North Korea.) The European Union does have what is called a Social Democracy - which is defined thusly (from here): 'Nuff said? Probably not ... The above definition is entirely strange to most Americans, including yourself. Which is why THIS YANK is remaining here* ... *Also my kids benefit from a post-secondary education the cost of which is less than 1K euros a year (about the same in dollars). There is here in the EU no monumental Tertiary-level Schooling debt as in the US - which is one of the highest debt-mountains of private expenditure in the US. (See here.)
Good data. That life expectancy graph is an eye-opener. Here is another excellent source of lots of data on wait times and rationing, and the US., France, the UK, and Canada to name just 4, don't look so good. Germany is apparently the best in most categories and their cost per capita is just more than half ours here in the US. https://askepticalhuman.com/politic...ht-wing-healthcare-myths-wait-times-rationing
