Ok geniuses, healthcare in Europe is NOT free! They pay for it through high income/sales taxes etc. Scandinavia is worse. If a new car is purchased there the taxes & fees add up to well over 100% of the car's value.
I've always been interested in the ROI aspect of healthcare at the individual level. Getting numbers in the USA is a challenge, but it seems that the average family who doesn't have employer funded healthcare is probably paying about $10K per year in premiums, and assuming that they max out their deductible, probably $6-10K more in deductibles. Sure, there are higher premium plans with lower deductibles, but they are typically covered by employers and the costs are often masked from the employee. But let's say $20K per year.
That is about $1500 per month, so if you are willing to pay an extra $1500 a month in taxes, I guess it is a wash. With most people's salaries showing $1500 a month is a MASSIVE amount to pay, if you were to tell them they had to pay that extra in tax they would freak out. The problem is that in countries that have govt. provided healthcare, the costs are pushed down so low as to make it far less and therefore more affordable. But as is the case with anything in economics, you get what you pay for. A cheaper insurance plan is cheaper for a reason - quality and availability suffers. For example, it is not uncommon in Australia to wait 2 years for any "elective" procedure. What they define as elective is subjective. That could include a hip replacement, knee replacement, etc. Things that if you are living in pain because of them, you would certainly not consider them elective.
But if you pay extra for "private" healthcare, then you can get those things attended to in a timely manner. Add the tax component + the private insurance premiums, and you probably get US medical costs.
The whole thing sucks because there is no one who keeps the costs down by forcing providers to be competitive and have a true free market. It is hard to have that when you are on a stretcher and you can't pick and choose your healthcare provider. Therefore in a govt funded healthcare model, at least the govt has the right to dictate pricing terms. I think that is the #1 reason there is fear for that in the USA. The entrenched medical industry does not want to have to be told how much they can charge, and consequently does a damn good job lobbying against anything like that ever coming into existence.
It's Free in the same sense the Police or Firefighters are Free. Included in government spending is more accurate way of looking at it.
You get what you pay for. Healthcare is neither a right nor a privilege. It is a service.
I've always been interested in the ROI aspect of healthcare at the individual level. Getting numbers in the USA is a challenge, but it seems that the average family who doesn't have employer funded healthcare is probably paying about $10K per year in premiums, and assuming that they max out their deductible, probably $6-10K more in deductibles. Sure, there are higher premium plans with lower deductibles, but they are typically covered by employers and the costs are often masked from the employee. But let's say $20K per year.
That is about $1500 per month, so if you are willing to pay an extra $1500 a month in taxes, I guess it is a wash. With most people's salaries showing $1500 a month is a MASSIVE amount to pay, if you were to tell them they had to pay that extra in tax they would freak out. The problem is that in countries that have govt. provided healthcare, the costs are pushed down so low as to make it far less and therefore more affordable. But as is the case with anything in economics, you get what you pay for. A cheaper insurance plan is cheaper for a reason - quality and availability suffers. For example, it is not uncommon in Australia to wait 2 years for any "elective" procedure. What they define as elective is subjective. That could include a hip replacement, knee replacement, etc. Things that if you are living in pain because of them, you would certainly not consider them elective.
But if you pay extra for "private" healthcare, then you can get those things attended to in a timely manner. Add the tax component + the private insurance premiums, and you probably get US medical costs.
The whole thing sucks because there is no one who keeps the costs down by forcing providers to be competitive and have a true free market. It is hard to have that when you are on a stretcher and you can't pick and choose your healthcare provider. Therefore in a govt funded healthcare model, at least the govt has the right to dictate pricing terms. I think that is the #1 reason there is fear for that in the USA. The entrenched medical industry does not want to have to be told how much they can charge, and consequently does a damn good job lobbying against anything like that ever coming into existence.
The only model I like is the "medical tourism" model, which works really well if it is not an emergency procedure. Check this out for more info: https://steemit.com/dental/@k0d3g3ar/stop-don-t-pay-that-us-or-canadian-dentist-check-this-out-first