Monday, December 28, 2009

Pay More, Die Earlier

Here is an interesting figure that I picked up over at Angry Bear.

This figure compares healthcare cost per person (left side), life expectancy (right side), and number of doctor visits per year (line thickness).

The slope of the line relates cost per year to life expectancy -- low cost, high life expectancy gives positive slope.

The color of the line indicates if the country has universal health care -- blue for yes, red for no. There are only two red lines, the US and Mexico.

A couple of things to note:
  1. The US line is way different from all the others. VERY high cost, relatively low life expectancy, and very thin line. We are paying much more than everyone else, living less years than most, and rarely going to the doctor.
  2. Japan seems to getting one of the best values. Cost 1/3 of the US cost. Life expectancy about 5 years more, and they see to doctor about monthly.
So, our private insurance plan which practically every other nation in the world has discarded, gives us what? It costs more. We live fewer years. We rarely see a doctor.

But, our healthcare executives get to fly around in private jets. We are rewarding them for THIS???

5 comments:

  1. It's a sad thing Jerry. I wouldn't go to the Dr. monthly, I have to go once a year to get my meds refilled and blood work, thats it. I never get so sick that I have to go to the Dr. I guess I better knock on wood!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The health care fiasco in the U.S. is beyond despicable. That's why we have to get this passed.

    I'm not one of the "if I can't have it my way, then I don't want it at all' people. With that attitude, we'll never in a million years have health care.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My right wing friends would say all the other live longer because they come here for health care. After the outrage, their lies are sometimes pretty funny.

    ReplyDelete
  4. No surprises here. Profits do this to health care. You can have one or the other, but never both, no matter how much you want to pretend otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OH man You have to check my blog out!! You are so right about things you have stated. FOr instance the cost that Lipitor sells its medicine for here in the US is just about $300, now the same medicine same Brand in India costs only $120.

    ReplyDelete