Re:Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements
by DennisP on Friday November 20, 2015 @08:24AM
(#10601019)
There are countries where few people have insurance. Health outcomes are poor.
There are other countries where everybody has insurance and the government negotiates medical prices. Japan, Germany, and France are three examples. They have much lower costs than the U.S. and the best health outcomes in the world, measured on criteria like death rates after diagnosis of major disease.
Source: Healing America by T.R. Reid.
Re:Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements
by silentplummet on Friday November 20, 2015 @09:32AM
(#10601294)
Something else those countries have (to varying extent) is strong public transportation and an ancient and coherent food culture, which has helped them resist the epidemic of obesity and diabetes we are suffering in the US. Does your book address this?
Re:Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements
by DennisP on Friday November 20, 2015 @09:47AM
(#10601370)
Those sorts of things affect disease incidence rates but not "death rates after diagnosis of major disease."
And Japan, for example, has an aging population of heavy smokers.
Re:Doctors want ban on prescription drug, device advertisements
by dools on Saturday November 21, 2015 @07:14AM
(#10606597)
Dude if you think medicine is TOO affordable in the US then you are seriously out of touch with everything. eg. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-s... the comparative cost of have asthma in the US even if you're insured, compared with having it in Australia or most of Europe or New Zealand is sky high. Antidepressants similarly - in Australia you can afford that shit if you're completely poor. Americans need crazy insurance that they get through work to cover it, and then they have to pay through the nose as well.
That's not true, because most people do have insurance. The major problem is that the costs are socialized by insurance, so people buy excessive healthcare because then can afford it (they aren't paying).