Quote Originally Posted by chuck34
I've always been a bit skeptical of that figure. I don't know if they figure in taxes, fees, etc. that other countires pay. Are they really comparing apples and oranges?

And even if we do pay more, so what? As long as I'm getting good quality health care I'm willing to pay for it. Is money really everything? Look at it this way. There are two ways to get your apendix taken out. One is the "old" way of slicing your gut open and pulling it out. That opens you up for infections, complecations, and has a fairly long recovery time. The other is the "new" way where they go in through your belly button with a scope and suck it out. There is little risk of infection, complecations, and the recovery is swift. Now the "old" way is cheap, and the "new" way is more expensive. And that's not the only example like this. So is cost really everything?
Is health care in Canada, for example, of lower quality than in the US? I've read that Canadians spend about 10% of their GDP on health care each year, while the Americans spend about 15%. I don't know how accurate that is. But if it's true, it would strongly indicate that your existing way of administering health care was inefficient.