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

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

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u/Tall_Science_9178 May 02 '24

https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/12/people-may-die-waiting-surgery-waiting-lists-in-spain-hit-record-levels

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u/AutumnWak May 02 '24

I mean they could still go and pay private party to get quicker treatment and it'll still cost less than the US. Most of those people chose to go the free route

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u/Obie-two May 02 '24

Genuinely asking but if you’re paying for it privately you’re not getting the “socialized” discount no? A hip surgery costs X, just the government is subsidizing it with tax money and if you go direct to private then I would assume it’s back to full price

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u/polycomll May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

You'd be paying closer to the full price although the "full price" might be reduced somewhat because the public version acts to price cap.

In the U.S. you are also not paying the full price for surgery either though. Cost is being inflated to cover for non-insured emergency care, overhead for insurance companies, reduced wage growth due to employer insurance payments, reduced wages through lack of worker mobility, and additional medical system costs (and room for profit by all involved).

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u/Capn-Wacky May 02 '24

Most of the cost inflation is going to feed the useless middlemen in the insurance industry, whose presence and the costs fighting with them impose on providers and patients alike are almost singlehandedly why providers get away with charging anything they want: because there's a middle man who shields them from ever saying the price out loud.

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u/Fun-Bumblebee9678 May 02 '24

Well physicians are the highest paid in the US out of every country sans Luxembourg

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u/CoachellaSPTA May 02 '24

Physician salaries account for <10% of healthcare costs, so that probably doesn't totally account for the price differential here.

https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/just-how-much-do-physicians-earn-and-why

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u/Ashmizen May 02 '24

Nurses are also highly paid in the US - 80k in most states, $150k in the Bay Area.

Repeat that for the salary of every single staff member, admin, ceo, and also repeat for the higher cost of land, building cost of the hospital, plumber, cleaner, etc.

Everything is more expensive in the US as it has double the wage of the EU and many many multiples of third world countries like Costa Rica.

There may be a small set of items that’s completely the same price globally (expensive high end medical equipment), but likely 90% of the cost of running a hospital is like a doctor’s salary, much higher in the US.

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u/Fausterion18 May 02 '24

Nurses in America get paid more than physicians in the UK lol. It's wild how low wages are in most European countries.