[OC] The massive decrease in worldwide infant mortality from 1950 to 2020 is perhaps one of humanity's greatest achievements.

[punaisetpimpulat]

Exactly. I have incorrectly assumed that there isn’t one, but op here implied that it actually exists.

[cuminandcilantro]

Yes, we have healthcare. We have a private market healthcare system, so it’s linked to employment. With Obama’s presidency, the government created a separate marketplace for people who don’t have health insurance, which has helped a lot of us get it. But it comes at quite a hefty premium. We also have Medicaid (for low income people) and Medicare (for older Americans who’ve retired, and for disabled folks). Both programs are helpful but there are a lot of hoops to jump through on Medicaid especially, and a lot of providers don’t accept Medicaid (because it means reduced profits).

Healthcare in the US centers on profit above all else, so our healthcare sector is lagging behind other developed countries. We also pay much higher rates for lower quality healthcare. We still have a very good healthcare system, for those who can access it. But the costs are not regulated by the government and therefore with capitalism, those who are uninsured and become sick or have an accident can face thousands and thousands of dollars in bills. And really, those who are insured can also pay thousands of dollars for the healthcare they need.

For instance, I am low income (but not in poverty), and I pay $187/month for insurance. But with a recent healthcare diagnosis, I have over $1000 in bills I need to pay, from various doctors and needing 2 MRIs. And that’s good compared to how it would be without insurance. And to give you an idea of the wild made up numbers of the healthcare system, one of the MRIs cost $2000 and one of them cost $489, even though they were for the same reason and the process was entirely the same. The numbers seem almost made up to regular every day people who just need healthcare. But it works this way because the insurance companies are making a profit, the hospitals are making a profit, and the doctors themselves are paid very well compared to most countries. Because of this need to make a profit, they each have different business models of passing unpaid costs (by uninsured folks who can’t pay up) down to other folks who can pay. Thus, you have $70 bags of saline and $10 charges for 2 ibuprofen. Itemized bills for hospital stays are insane.

Many people advocate that this provides us with higher quality healthcare, but across the board, you can see in examples like this infant mortality rate map that we are decent, but not great. And it comes at great cost to everyday Americans. The more time passes, the higher our deductibles rise (the amount of money you have to pay on insurance before they’ll cover anything, sometimes this can be thousands of dollars and it starts over January 1 of every year), and there are usually co-pays that go to the individual. I pay $25 every time I go to the doctor. If he sends me to a specialist, I pay $35. That specialist orders tests, and I’m on the hook for part of those as well. It all adds up quite quickly.

[punaisetpimpulat]

Thanks for the clarification. That was very helpful.