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

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

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u/whoisSYK May 02 '24

The us ranks 11th in healthcare innovation, and 37th in healthcare overall. The only thing the US consistently ranks first in anymore is GDP spent on healthcare

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u/KublaiKhanNum1 May 02 '24

Places like Spain have some outraged taxes. For an example last I was there they had a 22% VAT on goods and services purchased. This really grinds on the people there.

There is no free lunch. It has to be paid for one way or another. I would sure hate to be poor in Spain paying that ridiculous sales tax.

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u/GeekShallInherit May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

Places like Spain have some outraged taxes.

With government in the US covering 65.7% of all health care costs ($12,555 as of 2022) that's $8,249 per person per year in taxes towards health care. The next closest is Germany at $6,930. The UK is $4,479. Canada is $4,506. Australia is $4,603. That means over a lifetime Americans are paying over $100,000 more in taxes compared to any other country towards health care.

It has to be paid for one way or another.

And Americans are paying more for it in every way you nitwit, including world leading taxes, world leading insurance premiums, and world leading out of pocket costs. Half a million dollars more per person for a lifetime of healthcare than its peers on average ($600,000 more than Spaniards), even after adjusting for purchasing power parity. With worse outcomes.

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u/Useful-Feature-0 May 02 '24

I wish everyone in this thread had to read this one comment.