Pop quiz: Which US presidents are correlated with increased health spending?

[andrewducker]

Also, what does the USA get from its ridiculously high spending?



From. Via supergee

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Their system is so insane - it's optimized not at all around providing health, and entirely around not getting sued.

If I had to go with an insurance-like system, I'd like a system where my provider gets a fixed amount of money for every QALY they provide me with.

[spacelem.livejournal.com]

I heard a rant about the American health system yesterday, by an American who is studying medicine here (apparently she can't afford to do it there), followed by agreement and extension by someone from, mentioning the "not getting sued" element of medicine. This all started from a conversation about the cost of fillings.

I love my NHS.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell there's a cultural preference in the US for new/high-tech/active intervention medicine which interacts nastily with the "not getting sued" aspect.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Also, wouldn't dollars per capita be a much more useful measure than percent GDP?

[andrewducker]

I don't think that dollars per capita would account for differences in costs of people, buildings, etc.

[momentsmusicaux.livejournal.com]

I don't see the UK on that second graph...

[andrewducker]

Me either. But our lifespan is about the same as Germany, so you can just go left a bit from them.

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

We're 79.9 expectancy, 8.7%GDP. Puts us pretty much in the resepectable cluster - second square down, second column from the right.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

I was about to ask. Thank you. :)

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

I meant, of course, second column from the *left*