<i>I&#x27;ll take our more expensive health care over any other system any day of the week.</i><p>You pay almost twice as much per capita compared with Canada. Does it really all go toward better general care and longer lifespans? I don&#x27;t have link handy, but my understanding is that a huge amount of it goes to the bureaucracy associated with competitive for-profit insurance (including bailouts and so-on), not to mention crisis treatment for those who have avoided proactive care for fear of a big bill or being prescribed unnecessary and expensive drugs.<p>I&#x27;m not necessary dismissing your use of cancer and heart disease as proxies for care quality (dubious though that is), more just asking if you really think that that small gain is where the gigantic premium in US health care cost goes.