The United States spends more on health care than any other developed country in the world. 17.6 of our Gross Domestic Product or 3.3 Trillion Dollars per year, while other nations that offer similar benefits, like Germany, Australia, and Switzerland spend less than 12%. Americans spend more annually per capita on prescribed medications than any other nation. Almost $1,000.00 compared to $700.00 by Canada, $590.00 Australia, $620.00 Germany, and $580.00 by Switzerland. Americans spend more on Hospital stays than other countries, $18,000 per case, while Canada was about $13,000; Australia, France, and Germany were less than $10,000.
What is going on behind the curtains?
Prescription Drugs. Congress, Democrats, and Republicans have given Drug Companies the incredible authority to charge the American public more for Prescription Drugs than they charge the rest of the world. You can drive into Mexico or Canada and buy the same medication for half, sometimes one third the price you to pay in the U.S. This is what economists call "price discrimination"--that is, charging different prices to different buyers of the same product. Price discrimination works in the drug industry because drugs are very expensive to develop but cheap to manufacture. Companies recoup their research and development costs by charging very high prices in the United States making a big profit at the expense of the American consumer. This practice has to be stopped immediately.
Doctor Fees. Doctors account for almost one-fifth of health spending. After practicing for six years, the average U.S. family medicine doctor makes $200,000; the average general surgeon, $350,000; and the average urologist, $400,000. (Spinal surgeons make $625,000.) Office- and clinic-based doctors are the most likely of any job category -- except for securities and investment lawyers -- to be in the top 1 percent of earners. No other developed country pays doctors this much. In 2004, general practitioners in the U.S. were estimated to earn double -- measured by purchasing power -- the median for 21 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; for specialists, the difference was almost threefold. Those earnings reflect higher payments per service. Last year, a routine visit to a U.S. doctor cost commercial insurers $89 on average, compared with $64 in Switzerland, $40 in Germany, and $23 in France. For a normal birth in the U.S., doctors were paid an average of $3,390; in France, they got $449. For a hip replacement, American doctors’ average fee was $2,966, while in Spain it was $1,123.
Hospital Services: Hospital Service costs are completely out of control. A good friend took his wife to an emergency room recently after she suffered a panic attack. They did a KGB, took her blood for a complete blood panel, checked her pulse, and charged them $12,000.00. Hospital prices are increasing much faster than inflation, particularly the not-for-profit. Their markups are ten times higher than what Medicare pays. The For-Profit hospitals are more honest but also practice incredibly high markups. What is the reason for these incredibly high markups? King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services Chairman, and CEO Alan Miller made more than 51.3 million last year, according to the company’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeffrey Romoff, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center received $5.97 million. Delos Cosgrove, MD, Cleveland Clinic, $2.31 million. Herbert Pardes, MD, former CEO of New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City) $4.35 million. I am all in favor of an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work but this is out of control.
Frivolous Liability Lawsuits. While this issue has been controlled during the past ten years, it continues to represent an enormously high cost to all medical establishments forcing them to practice defensive medicine. This high cost is ultimately passed on to the consumer.
Sell Health Insurance across state lines. While this concept is a no brainer, it has met with great resistance from Insurance companies since it will force them to compete, reducing prices to the American consumer.
The middle class is getting the short end of the stick. Congress, elected to defend the people, needs to get off their high horse and stop placing special interest before the interests of Americans. Contact your Senator and Congressman and let them know how you feel.
What is going on behind the curtains?
Prescription Drugs. Congress, Democrats, and Republicans have given Drug Companies the incredible authority to charge the American public more for Prescription Drugs than they charge the rest of the world. You can drive into Mexico or Canada and buy the same medication for half, sometimes one third the price you to pay in the U.S. This is what economists call "price discrimination"--that is, charging different prices to different buyers of the same product. Price discrimination works in the drug industry because drugs are very expensive to develop but cheap to manufacture. Companies recoup their research and development costs by charging very high prices in the United States making a big profit at the expense of the American consumer. This practice has to be stopped immediately.
Doctor Fees. Doctors account for almost one-fifth of health spending. After practicing for six years, the average U.S. family medicine doctor makes $200,000; the average general surgeon, $350,000; and the average urologist, $400,000. (Spinal surgeons make $625,000.) Office- and clinic-based doctors are the most likely of any job category -- except for securities and investment lawyers -- to be in the top 1 percent of earners. No other developed country pays doctors this much. In 2004, general practitioners in the U.S. were estimated to earn double -- measured by purchasing power -- the median for 21 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; for specialists, the difference was almost threefold. Those earnings reflect higher payments per service. Last year, a routine visit to a U.S. doctor cost commercial insurers $89 on average, compared with $64 in Switzerland, $40 in Germany, and $23 in France. For a normal birth in the U.S., doctors were paid an average of $3,390; in France, they got $449. For a hip replacement, American doctors’ average fee was $2,966, while in Spain it was $1,123.
Hospital Services: Hospital Service costs are completely out of control. A good friend took his wife to an emergency room recently after she suffered a panic attack. They did a KGB, took her blood for a complete blood panel, checked her pulse, and charged them $12,000.00. Hospital prices are increasing much faster than inflation, particularly the not-for-profit. Their markups are ten times higher than what Medicare pays. The For-Profit hospitals are more honest but also practice incredibly high markups. What is the reason for these incredibly high markups? King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services Chairman, and CEO Alan Miller made more than 51.3 million last year, according to the company’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeffrey Romoff, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center received $5.97 million. Delos Cosgrove, MD, Cleveland Clinic, $2.31 million. Herbert Pardes, MD, former CEO of New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City) $4.35 million. I am all in favor of an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work but this is out of control.
Frivolous Liability Lawsuits. While this issue has been controlled during the past ten years, it continues to represent an enormously high cost to all medical establishments forcing them to practice defensive medicine. This high cost is ultimately passed on to the consumer.
Sell Health Insurance across state lines. While this concept is a no brainer, it has met with great resistance from Insurance companies since it will force them to compete, reducing prices to the American consumer.
The middle class is getting the short end of the stick. Congress, elected to defend the people, needs to get off their high horse and stop placing special interest before the interests of Americans. Contact your Senator and Congressman and let them know how you feel.
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