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Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Washington Post blog
Posted: March 25th, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/post/why-an-mri...
There is a simple reason health care in the United States costs more than it does anywhere else: The prices are higher. In 2009, Americans spent $7,960 per person on health care. Our neighbors in Canada spent $4,808. The Germans spent $4,218. The French, $3,978. If we had the per-person costs of any of those countries, Americas deficits would vanish. There are many possible explanations for why Americans pay so much more. It could be that were sicker. Or that we go to the doctor more frequently. But health researchers have largely discarded these theories. Americans dont see the doctor more often or stay longer in the hospital than residents of other countries. Quite the opposite, actually. We spend less time in the hospital than Germans and see the doctor less often than the Canadians. The International Federation of Health Plans ... surveyed its members on the prices paid for 23 medical services and products in different countries, asking after everything from a routine doctors visit to a dose of Lipitor to coronary bypass surgery. And in 22 of 23 cases, Americans are paying higher prices than residents of other developed countries. Usually, were paying quite a bit more. In America, ... its a free-for-all. Providers largely charge what they can get away with, often offering different prices to different insurers, and an even higher price to the uninsured.
Note: And why are the prices higher in the U.S.? Could it be that the U.S. is the only developed nation that doesn't have nationalized health care, so that profit is no longer a motive in caring for people's health? For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on corruption in the medical industry, click here.
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