Warren Buffett says health care costs are a bigger problem than corporate taxes
I’m not American, but I’ve been hearing about your health system for a several years. Ironically, I know more about it than my own country’s (Ireland).<p>Several years ago, there seemed to be a lot of talk about how much The US spends (private & public) per capita on health. It’s a lot more than everywhere else. This was usually presented in the context of the health care “regime” A UK-esque system, a Swiss-like system, etc.<p>Lately, that comparison seems to come up less. Obama-care, Trump-care or Bernie-care would mostly deal with who pays & how, not how much.<p>The “who pays” question is a favourite ideological one so politicians and commentators are comfortable with it. But, I think the “how much” question is probably the more important one, and the harder one to solve. If the US could get costs down to average European rates, then I’m sure a workable system could be found within the confines of most ideological frameworks.<p>The problem is that getting costs down is almost impossible. Costs are salaries of doctors & nurses, a giant pharmaceutical industry, thousands of radiologists, ultrasound technicians, the machines they use (far more frequently than europeans)…<p>Getting costs down to EU levels would be mean the medical industry shrinks like manufacturing shrunk two generations ago.<p>I don’t have a solution to suggest, but I do suggest toning down the ideological discussion. The problem is more of a technical one.