If we go by data, the US healthcare system is the most expensive (not arguable) and is not even in the top 5 among developed countries in the most important measures. Also a doc, though that is not really relevant for this discussion.
one of these references is from an US insurance company who you would think would be biased for US healthcare
I said “if you have private insurance,” which I think is the key qualifier. One of the other commenters expanded upon it well below.
I’m not making an argument for cost-effectiveness either.
We can get private insurance to pay for elective surgeries, new medications, etc. that are either not covered in other countries or have extremely long wait periods. And the higher reimbursement I think is helpful for providing staffing and paying for equipment that they (in my admittedly n of 1 experience) simply didn’t have for me. I suppose it is a tradeoff.
I’m not making an argument for cost-effectiveness either.
We can get private insurance to pay for elective surgeries, new medications, etc. that are either not covered in other countries or have extremely long wait periods. And the higher reimbursement I think is helpful for providing staffing and paying for equipment that they (in my admittedly n of 1 experience) simply didn’t have for me. I suppose it is a tradeoff.