Health Care Headlines 8/19/09

4We Don't Spend Enough on Health Care
"Japan spends 8% of its GDP on health care—the same as Zimbabwe."

Um, perhaps we need a different measure.

4Whose Medical Decisions?

"There are more Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices per capita in the United States, more coronary bypass operations and Americans use more new pharmaceutical drugs created within the past 5 years."

In other words, we get what we pay for.

4Medicare For All Isn't The Answer

"...[H]ospitals received only 94.1 cents for every dollar they spent treating Medicare patients in 2007. MedPAC projects that number to decline to 93.1 cents per dollar spent in 2009, for an operating shortfall of 7%. Medicare works because hospitals subsidize the care they provide with revenue received from patients who have commercial insurance. Without that revenue, hospitals could not afford to care for those covered by Medicare. In effect, everyone with insurance is subsidizing the Medicare shortfall..."

And if we all go into Medicare (or something similar), our healthcare system will go broke.

4A Trojan Horse Rises (video)