Wouldn't it be great if we had universal healthcare in the US? Yeah, but....
The US already pays close to 15% of GDP on healthcare, about twice that of developed European countries. One of my goals is to figure out a way to be more like the Europeans but better. As in halving US healthcare spending but achieving universal coverage and excellent quality of care without the heavy hand of big-time taxes, regulations, and bureaucracy. If that trick could be accomplished, both sides of the partisan divide would cheer (or not).
Anyhow...all great problem explorations begin with... a table of course!
This is actually worse than it looks. Given that old people consume way more healthcare than anyone else, why do other rich countries spend so much less on healthcare than the US, when the US has comparatively fewer oldsters? Something is very wrong with this picture.
What is all that money paying for? Per the above table, the US pays a lot more than the other countries on outpatient care and administration, which alone account for half of US healthcare expenditures. Some definitions:
Outpatient services are medical procedures or tests that can be done in a medical center without an overnight stay. Many procedures and tests can be done in a few hours. Outpatient services include:
- Wellness and prevention, such as counseling and weight-loss programs.
- Diagnosis, such as lab tests and MRI scans.
- Treatment, such as some surgeries and chemotherapy .
- Rehabilitation, such as drug or alcohol rehab and physical therapy.
Administration includes activities relating to planning, regulating, and managing health systems and services, e.g., claims adjusting, coding, billing, and documenting.
In addition to these two problem areas, the US spends way more on pharmaceuticals than other developed countries - about twice more per capita, on average.
Ok, that's enough to get the neurons firing. The challenge is clear: how to reduce the cost of outpatient services, administration, and pharmaceuticals in the US.
Next: You can't solve a problem unless you understand it. Why is the US spending so much on outpatient services, administration, and pharmaceuticals?
Reference:
Papanicolas I, Woskie LR, Jha AK. Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries. JAMA. 2018;319(10):1024–1039. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.1150