[riffraff]

I am not saying the general idea is wrong, and probably it is true in the US. But.

You could equivalently say "why is there national healthcare almost everywhere in Europe" and answer "money", reversing your point.

[LordDragonfang]

Except we know why there's national healthcare in Europe: because it's more cost effective per citizen (economies of scale and collective bargaining for prices with no profit motive), and the US effectively subsidizes research costs.

I suppose in a way that is "money", but not in the sense that he meant (ie money directly exerting political power)

[kwhitefoot]

The answer is about money not the money itself. It all depends on who controls the money and why. In Europe the state controls it and most citizens are happy with that (not perfectly of course) whereas it is a complete non-starter in the US because 'everyone' has an adversarial relationship with the state.

[y4mi]

Not necessarily, because the amount of money the health industries get in every other country is tiny compared to the USA