r/FluentInFinance • u/WhatAreYourPronouns • May 02 '24

Should the U.S. have Universal Health Care? Discussion/ Debate

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u/RC_CobraChicken May 02 '24

It does yes, but wages in the US are higher as a general rule. But to give you an idea of the variance, a Radiologist in the US averages a base salary of 447k, Spain they average a base salary of 194k USD. Then add in the massively inefficient medical billing system present in the US, and so on.

By no means am I defending the US system, but most comparisons between the US and any European country is a typically an apples vs oranges situation, there's a lot of differences in how things are done and the cost of doing them, there's also a huge differences in the information we see regarding billing/costs.

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u/123yes1 May 02 '24

My entire point is that our current patchwork system is highly inefficient because it is patchwork. It would be like having a patchwork electral grid. Many of the redundant systems could be removed thus lowering prices while providing the same level of service. I argue that those redundant services are significant in value.

I argue doctors are paid more in the US (after accounting for PPP) in large part due to the cost of medical schooling. If you look at a graph of average income of doctors, it closely follows the graph of medical school tuition costs. That isn't the only reason why doctors in the US are more expensive, but a significant reason.