(Check out the original source for this graphic here. It's interactive, well worth the click.)
As Gordon points out in Chapter 7, many of the improvements in our average life expectancy over the 20th century can be attributed to improved infrastructure in water, sewage and sanitation. Despite this, healthcare costs have seen serious increases, particularly in the U.S. "While the U.S. spends more on health care than any other country in the world, it ranks 12th in life expectancy among the 12 wealthiest industrialized countries."
Now I'm not asking you to solve the healthcare crisis, but what factors are contributing to the "low returns" the U.S. is getting on its healthcare investments and what could explain why many other countries are doing so much better?
This visual is very interesting. I think this shows how broken the healthcare system is. One explanation could be that preventive services are still a financial difficulty in the US. I feel like in other countries, citizens have easier access or the financial burden is less for these similar services, which in turn reduces long term costs.
ReplyDeleteI feel like other countries are doing better because they are not as diverse as the US. We have such a wide variety of diversity & a wide variety of wealthy & extremely poor. That just makes for a huge mess.
ReplyDeleteI think inequality has a large part to do with it. The fact that healthcare is so expensive only makes it that much less accessible to low income families. You can only get medical attention if you can afford it, unlike many other developed countries. National life expectancy should go up if everyone has access to treatment when they need it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chido. Like we discussed in class, the U.S healthcare system simply needs to see a drastic improvement.
DeleteI don't know too much about the US health system and where most of their funds for research and development go. From most of the statistics I've seen, of the leading causes of death in OECD countries, the US is only below the average for cancers (neoplasms). Just judging by the stats, that could mean that more research or treatment efforts are being poured into this area and not enough into other areas which significantly affect length of life in this country.
ReplyDeleteTime magazine had an excellent article on this during the Obamacare arguments in 2013. Unfortunately, the article itself is behind a paywall, but from what I recall, there is a rampant lack of price transparency and control in the industry. Coupled with a good that, Kwak noticed, is of absolute necessity to the people who need it, you end up needing strong regulation in order to police it. In the era of "government is the problem," that regulation is non-existent.
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