General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGotta Read: What makes U.S. health care so overpriced? It’s not what you think
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/what-makes-u-s-health-care-so-overpriced-its-not-2D11582695U.S. medical care is getting ever pricier, but its not because so many old people are running up charges, experts reported Tuesday. Most of the moneys being spent on people under 65 with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
The perception is that a bigger proportion of the population is getting old and sick, and using more and more services. But Moses and colleagues say their review didnt show that.
In 2011, chronic illnesses account for 84 percent of costs overall among the entire population, not only of the elderly. Chronic illness among individuals younger than 65 years accounts for 67 percent of spending, they found.
Price of professional services, drugs and devices, and administrative costs, not demand for services or aging of the population, produced 91 percent of cost increases since 2000.
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This is my counter-argument to those who are yelling about men paying for maternity and infant care. I don't have diabetes nor heart disease. Yet I've been paying for those who do for more than a decade. (I really do understand that this how insurance works, but it's my comeback to those idiots who think each and every policy should be customized and priced.)
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Among other things, poor nutrition.
So why are the Republicans cutting food stamps, meals on wheels and every other program that helps feed People?
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)And if I'm not mistaken sequestration is a thoroughly bipartisan policy.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)On fiscal policy, this doesn't appear to be the case.
madville
(7,412 posts)People use food stamps to buy junk food and that's why our poor people have such poor health and a high obesity/chronic illness rate.
If the food stamp program was truly about nutrition it wouldn't be cut, it would include nutrition education and not allow crap to be purchased through the program.
Unfortunately in Washington's eyes the program is mainly about funneling money to processed food manufacturers and corn producers these days.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)went to four families out of thousands. Two of them had kids with leukemia, one had another kid with special needs, and I can't remember what the fourth one was.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)drugs, surgery, doctor visits, etc when we would all be better off directing our efforts toward keeping those people healthy in the first place with proper diet and sufficient exercise.
But noooooo..........we gotta keep Big Ag and the fast food corporations and Big Pharma happy, and we gotta let everybody indulge their gargantuan appetites like spoiled children.