By Ezra Klein, Updated:
Every year, the International Federation of Health Plans — a global insurance trade association that includes more than 100 insurers in 25 countries — releases survey data showing the prices that insurers are actually paying for different drugs, devices, and medical services in different countries. And every year, the data is shocking.
The IFHP just released the data for 2012. And yes, once again, the numbers are shocking.
This is the fundamental fact of American health care: We pay much, much more than other countries do for the exact same things. For a detailed explanation of why, see this article. But this post isn’t about the why. It’s about the prices, and the graphs.
One note: Prices in the United States are expressed as a range. There’s a reason for that. In other countries, prices are set centrally and most everyone, no matter their region or insurance arrangement, pays pretty close to the same amount. In the United States, each insurer negotiates its own prices, and different insurers end up paying wildly different amounts. That’s what Steven Brill’s explosive article was about, and it’s why you see U.S. prices expressed as a range rather than a single number.
Editor’s Note: While the Washington Post is normally a mouthpiece for the most rancid sectors of the ruling (capitalist) class, from time to time, as happens with other media organs like The New York Times, these massive media produce materials of provocative interest. Why precisely they do that is the topic for another article. Many reasons come up, perhaps the desire to appear of true service to the public interest to make up for the constant betrayals, or perhaps as an act of resistance by some unidentified editor. Whatever the reason, the below is one such example. Incidentally, study the comments selected from the original thread. Some comments reflect an understanding of the situation, and then there are the usual idiots who, either as shills for the insurance companies or out of stubborn denseness, defend the status quo, a few with ludicrous alacrity. Many such comments reflect the usual right-wing talking points to defend the “American Way of Health” (i.e., via lies about Canada’s system [ooh those terrible long waits…!” and the like] not to mention the kvetching about some poor soul [read undocumented immigrant] receiving healthcare at “our expense”! These are people who, quite frequently, like to think of themselves as compassionate Christians.). Indeed, the greatest obstacle to the reshaping of a society is often not so much the highest spheres of entrenched privilege and power, surrounded by their phalanx of henchmen, but the untold numbers of misguided people who wllingly support an unjust order.—P. Greanville
___________
By Ezra Klein
This is the fundamental fact of American health care: We pay much, much more than other countries do for the exact same things. For a detailed explanation of why, see this article. But this post isn’t about the why. It’s about the prices, and the graphs.
One note: Prices in the United States are expressed as a range. There’s a reason for that. In other countries, prices are set centrally and most everyone, no matter their region or insurance arrangement, pays pretty close to the same amount. In the United States, each insurer negotiates its own prices, and different insurers end up paying wildly different amounts. That’s what Steven Brill’s explosive article was about, and it’s why you see U.S. prices expressed as a range rather than a single number.
After all these graphs, this final graph shouldn’t be a surprise.
Further reading:
– Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France.
Further watching:
·
You can’t be trusted. How is that for plain English?
After all these graphs, this final graph shouldn’t be a surprise.
Further reading:
– Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France.
Further watching:
