NHMike wrote:If we look at world rankings, we find that 17 out of the top 20 hospitals are in the United States with the United States also holding the top 7 spots.
http://hospitals.webometrics.info/en/World
And then you have the NCI which can develop treatments that even the top cancer hospitals in the US don't have. Yet. The NCI treatments will eventually go out to the US major cancer centers and then to the rest of the world.
radnyc wrote:"average per-patient costs across all chemotherapy treatments were $12,345 per month in Western Washington state and $6,195 per month in neighboring British Columbia" with “overall survival was no different between the two locations.”
NYTimes, May 14, 2018 wrote:America was in the realm of other countries in per-capita health spending through about 1980. Same for life expectancy. In 1980, the U.S. was right in the middle of the pack of peer nations in life expectancy at birth but then it diverged. By the mid-2000s, we were at the bottom of the pack.
NT Times (further down in the article) wrote:Other countries have been able to put limits on health care prices and spending with government policies. The US has relied more on market forces, which have been less effective. One result: Prices for health care goods and services are much higher in the United States . . . the differential between what the U.S. and other industrialized countries pay for prescriptions and for hospital and physician services continues to widen.
LeonW wrote:NHMike wrote:If we look at world rankings, we find that 17 out of the top 20 hospitals are in the United States with the United States also holding the top 7 spots.
http://hospitals.webometrics.info/en/World
And then you have the NCI which can develop treatments that even the top cancer hospitals in the US don't have. Yet. The NCI treatments will eventually go out to the US major cancer centers and then to the rest of the world.
You're correct, research is of utmost importance. But the subject of this thread is not top hospitals, it is healthcare as a system . . .
If you have the dough, it's not that difficult to go to any hospital in the world that you think can of to serve you best. There are hardly limits for the Steve Jobs of this world, or the desperate Chinese people that you referred to your link that spent $70,000 out of pocket by finding a treatment in San Francisco and avoided parallelization.
But something in the system must be flawed when (quote that started this thread):radnyc wrote:"average per-patient costs across all chemotherapy treatments were $12,345 per month in Western Washington state and $6,195 per month in neighboring British Columbia" with “overall survival was no different between the two locations.”
That's why I posted the links to the NYTimes articles that concluded similarly:NYTimes, May 14, 2018 wrote:America was in the realm of other countries in per-capita health spending through about 1980. Same for life expectancy. In 1980, the U.S. was right in the middle of the pack of peer nations in life expectancy at birth but then it diverged. By the mid-2000s, we were at the bottom of the pack.
The first graph in the article shows it most clearly - I'd wish I knew how to insert a picture here, but have a look via this link
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/upshot/medical-mystery-health-spending-1980.html
Public policy (government spending) in health financing makes the diference:NT Times (further down in the article) wrote:Other countries have been able to put limits on health care prices and spending with government policies. The US has relied more on market forces, which have been less effective. One result: Prices for health care goods and services are much higher in the United States . . . the differential between what the U.S. and other industrialized countries pay for prescriptions and for hospital and physician services continues to widen.
Best wishes
Leon
(Who had / has 100% of medical expenses covered by (mandatory) national insurance )
MissMolly wrote:My out of pocket health care expenses at a minimum for this year will be $22,400 (annual insurance premiums $15,600 + annual $6,800 deductible).
This does not include medical expenses that I will incur that are not covered by medical insurance
NHMike wrote:I'd have to understand what they mean about costs. I've written about my experiences in where sticker prices is often far higher than the price that insurance actually pays or that people actually pay (a lot of medical bills simply don't get paid).
betsydoglover wrote:Not saying that our health care system doesn't have issues. But the issue is what ins co pay, not the billed amt. My onc (no surprise) told me she has no clue where those billed amts come from. Maybe they are the most any ins co would pay under exceptional circumstances - maybe the "prices" are set so that there is no question of getting the maximum negotiated (with ins company) payment. Who knows - but when comparing our medical system compared to other countries, there are adjustments that may need to be made to actually compare "apples to apples".
Just a thought,
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