Study: U.K. health system 'most efficient' - U.S. in last place

outside of Changsa South China.

Found out walking on wet rock is an art LOL

Why is it so high for medical treatment in the States?

capitalism. that's why. Actually "Predatory Capitalism" . When your sick, you are essentially cornered- so pay up, after all without good health, everything else is of no use.

I recently has surgery. I got the statements from my insurance company. If I had paid the cost myself it would have been over $6000. My insurance company paid a little over a thousand. I believe that is what is wrong with the US health care system, willynilly is correct. Its all about making money and to hell with all else.

The hospital is the only place that you are required to sign a legal document saying that you will pay the bill before you can even see the bottom line.

I asked for an estimate last time I went to the hospital and they tell me "What do I look like? A mechanic?"

What kind of service is that where you walk in blind to the price and just sign a page saying you will pay it?

A greedy manipulative one.

But Britain came last when measured for life expectancy at age 60. The UK's was 22.5 years, well behind leading nation Australia with 24.6 years.

If I interpreted this right 22.5 after the age 60 so that adds up to 82.5 years old. Still seems good and England came in last?

any way here is a good site for life expectancy.

As patients / healthcare consumers in the US we have, in my opinion two options:

1. Save as much money as you can to pay for the inevitable healthcare costs which are going to strangle you some day. Stop wasting money on all non-essential items. Save it all for healthcare. Don’t depend on Obamacare to reduce costs any time soon.

2. Immigrate to Canada / Australia / UK or find a spouse who is a citizen of one of those countries- which will allow you to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Seriously, I kid you not.

Seriously, I know you are not kidding! Why do you think so many Americans are becoming 'expatriots?' Many are retiring in places all over the world such as Canada, France, Panama, Mexico, and South American countries like Ecuador. Not only is the health care better and more readily available but the exchange rate makes the cost of living way better than staying here in the U.S. This is certainly not an option for most of us because we have our "roots" here. Our kid, grandkids, and other family keep us close to the home fires. However when that is not an issue for you then there is no earthly reason to stay here and slowly bleed to death financially.

Interestingly there is a new trend as well. Young college graduates who cannot find gainful employment here are beginnig to migrate to other countries. China, South America, Australia, and many of the Balkan countries are actually competing for young American grads to bring their youth, training, and expertise to their countries. First we sent them our jobs, now we must also send them our trained youth to fill those jobs. I get the feeling that we are being 'turned inside out' by those free trade agreement deals. LOL Just be patient. All of our illegal immigrants will get their kids trained and educated here then immigrate to other countries to put their training to good use and get good medical care for their parents. LOL

As they say, what goes around comes around. We are just somewhere on the arc of the turn. HEH HEH HEH HEH. Just be patient. Pretty soon the immigrants will have the place all to themselves. The rest of us will have been absorbed by the rest of the world. :=))

Why is it so high for medical treatment in the States?

Because people in the US are greedy.

Malpractice claims account for less than 2% of health care spending in the United States. While frivolous claims are a problem, stating that they are the cause of the high cost of health care is equally frivolous.

The dental care in the UK sounds fairly good to me. Here in the US, I needed a procedure at the dentist that cost 600. when I was first told about it. By the time I could afford it 2 yrs later the price had increased to 900. (in addition to the fact that because I waited so long I needed further treatment). Dental insurance has a waiting period before you can get work done so I would have paid even more (including the premiums - which are a cost that you have to include to figure this out right) and waited just as long had I had insurance. I don't think waiting 3 months for treatment is bad at all, especially when preventative care is more available.

At least your friends were able to get dental work done. If you are uninsured good luck finding a dentist who will take you before you have cash in hand. I have a friend who needed 4 teeth pulled and she had to wait months to raise enough money.

The quality of care may be higher but the time to get in to GET that care is disgraceful.

Even for our lower quality of care the time to get in to get that care is disgraceful when you are poor and uninsured.

OK Mark..I will clarify. Malpractice claims ADD to the high cost..they are not solely responsible.

In this case, the teeth were impacted. My friend was on increasing strength pain killers for three months and went through two bouts of infection and related antibiotics.

I'm curious and this question may not seem PC, but why did your friend wait so long to have these teeth treated when the wait is only a few months? If the care is accessible and affordable, why not take care of the problem before it got to that point - filling the cavities as soon as they were detected? Are regular cleanings and checkups not part of the deal with the NHS? I'm not meaning to be rude - I really don't understand how it works (maybe there is a good reason?)

Lynn, I have a friend here in the States who was showing signs of a brain tumor (personality changes, headaches), who went to the doctor and was scheduled for an MRI--6 weeks later. She took the appointment as it was the best she could get. A week later, she collapsed while grocery shopping and was rushed to the ER, where it was determined that without surgery in 24 hours, she'd be dead. And she had great insurance...she did have the surgery that night and is alive today.

It's a myth that medical care is immediately available in the US, even when you have symptoms of life threatening disease. It took her nearly dying to get care, with great insurance!

Every little bit adds to it, Lynn. But at 2% of the total spent on health care costs in the United States you can't really say that "Costs are high due to the cost of the medical malpractice insurance".

I didn't get the ins and outs of my friend's ongoing dental care..just passing along the story.

JonesGirl :)..I didn't say the US was great. I was commenting on the timeline, as I knew it, in the UK. I can't argue the time it takes to see a doctor here. It has always been an issue that a doctor wont' take a new patient for a good 3-4 months which adds to the headaches of things like simply moving to a different location. I never understood why, if you are a new patient it takes 3-4 months to get that first appointment while regular patients can be seen within a few days...uhm...isn't that why there is a schedule for appointments?? :)

Mark, I added my addendum that the malpractice costs add to the costs and agreed they are not solely respponsible.

My mother is the same. She remarried and moved to London 15 years ago and got re-divorced. she has been severely disabled due to a car accident since she was 18 and has an in and out knowledge of health care. she not planning on coming back anytime soon as she actually receives health care over there and can live a relatively independent life thanks to the medical support she gets.

Oh and don't forget some of the small villages that still speak Gaelic in Nova Soctia.

The preference for English-speaking languages may have to with the availability of information in English - making the study cheaper - or that stats in these countries are collected in ways that are easy to compare.

One of the parameters mentioned was that medical services were equal for all. You'd have to have a society divided in classes to maintain stats to illuminate this aspect. But totally independent of health services provided, well-to-do people live healthier lives and live longer, their children even grow taller than poor people's.

Unfortunately, the new health care bill does NOT solve the problem it only makes things worse...

In cognito, Your right, however I do see somthing positive about this health care bill. Namely that it will bring us to the brink of disaster much much sooner. Rather than bleeding slowly to death, I predict that when healthcare reaches 25-30% of GDP probably in another 5-6 years and more and more people get seriously fed up with our system we might see "real" change. We havent reached the tipping point yet, but this bill might get us there faster.

I quite agree. We are doing what we always do in these types of situations. Start throwing 'bandaids' everywhere. Temporary 'quick fixes' that relax the jerking knees. LOL

Dr. Danny, No system is perfect. Ofcourse the NHS has problems. The fact is there is no perfect system for everyone. As with most things, those who can afford to, go first class. The wealthy have allways gotten and will allways get better healthcare. The tragedy in the US is that average middle class people are just one major illness away from financial ruin. If 25% of NHS doctors have private healthcare coverage it is because they can afford it. And good for them. Try living in the US without proper health insurance and see what it feels like. Try living wihtout any safety net. You really dont know how good you have it untill you loose it.

Of course no system is perfect. But for this article to claim that the UK has the most efficient healthcare service is beyond the ridiculous given that healthcare spending has doubled in the UK in the last 10 years yet productivity has fallen by nearly 3%. It's one of the worst things I've read on the Vine for quite some time.