tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post2731674355254389760..comments2010-12-19T07:28:41.222-08:00Comments on Lettuce From America: #11 Boy you have no Faith in America.Samuel Palinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13673507291841548741noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post-26504332178021098372010-06-20T16:00:50.796-07:002010-06-20T16:00:50.796-07:00"What you have to remember is that, whilst co..."What you have to remember is that, whilst competition should drive prices down, it also means more people along the pipeline want to make a profit." <br /><br />Why is that a problem? It is possible to both offer better service and make a profit at the same time. In fact, the two things tend to be correlated.James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post-14355733186317787902010-06-06T17:59:28.083-07:002010-06-06T17:59:28.083-07:00My mistake, Hugo. You're right - what I mean i...My mistake, Hugo. You're right - what I mean is that the per-capita spend is twice as much. Much of that is by individuals (health insurance coverage). However, the US government does 'overspend' relative to, for example, Canada's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_health_care_systems_in_Canada_and_the_United_States<br /><br />You can get them cheaper, potentially, from websites etc. A lot of people aren't terribly comfortable with that (it would, for example, invalidate any insurance you might have), and some don't have the luxury.<br /><br />What you have to remember is that, whilst competition should drive prices down, it also means more people along the pipeline want to make a profit.Samuel Palinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13673507291841548741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post-71227109546474110032010-05-31T14:11:36.346-07:002010-05-31T14:11:36.346-07:00A very plausible alternative is that $300 is the t...A very plausible alternative is that $300 is the true cost, and that they are subsidised in the UK by the state.James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post-62063753315064062902010-05-05T14:56:51.609-07:002010-05-05T14:56:51.609-07:00Since I'm not one of those weird non-Americans...Since I'm not one of those weird non-Americans who are more interested in American politics than politics in their own country, I haven't bothered to spend hours reading about the American healthcare system. <br /><br /><br />"the American government, with five times as many people under its wing than Britain's, spends twice as much per capita on healthcare"<br />Just to confirm, do you mean the American government? <br /><br />"$300. Seriously. Both of the drugs I'd been prescribed are available over-the-counter in the UK, for no more than 10 pounds." <br /><br />Is $300 the cheapest you can get them? Can you get them on the internet? If these are generic drugs, not still under patent, then why isn't anyone competing and undercutting them? Has competition been made illegal in some way? <br /><br />It sounds like the problems with American healthcare are caused by government.James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5265028886656159003.post-51127789605263055702010-05-04T15:40:24.897-07:002010-05-04T15:40:24.897-07:00Good post - interesting insight.Good post - interesting insight.ZDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12578217468057946980noreply@blogger.com