One thing we all have to remember part of what we pay for in the US is choice in health care. We want to decide which doctor to see and when to see them
Why is it so important to you that we shovel money into insurance and drug companies instead of actual health care? If you don’t fear being educated, read up on French health care.
From the right-leaning magazines Business Week and Reason:
“France’s infant death rate is 3.9 per 1,000 live births, compared with 7 in the U.S., and average life expectancy is 79.4 years, two years more than in the U.S. The country has far more hospital beds and doctors per capita than America, and far lower rates of death from diabetes and heart disease. The difference in deaths from respiratory disease, an often preventable form of mortality, is particularly striking: 31.2 per 100,000 people in France, vs. 61.5 per 100,000 in the U.S.”
“65% of French citizens express satisfaction with their system, compared with 40% of U.S. residents. And France spends just 10.7% of its gross domestic product on health care, while the U.S. lays out 16%, more than any other nation.”
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042070.htm
“In France, by contrast, you walk to the corner pharmacist, get either a prescription or over-the-counter medication right away, shell out a dozen or so euros, and you’re done. If you need a doctor, it’s not hard to get an appointment within a day or three, you make payments for everything (including X-rays) on the spot, and the amounts are routinely less than the co-payments for U.S. doctor visits. I’ve had back X-rays, detailed ear examinations, even minor oral surgery, and never have I paid more than maybe €300 for any one procedure. ”
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/07/why-prefer-french-health-care