Would we be better off if the Chinese or Indians started surpassing the US in medical advances?

[dkf]

Could it possibly drive prices down to a point that healthcare would be affordable for us? Or is that a dangerous thing to wish for?

[The Second Stone]

1. Medical procedures usually become shared

around the world by those with enough skill and resources to copy the new methods.

[dkf]

4. What if they patent a cure for cancer? Or heart disease?

Could we copy that without us being the perpetrators of intellectual theft?

[Ozymanithrax]

2. It is not the advances, but the way our system works to provide health care...

The vast majority of people will never use most medical advances, but they could use regular preventative health care.

So, no, I don't think it will matter when India, China, or anyone else surpasses us.

[dkf]

3. Procedure wise that is probably right, unless we start traveling to receive services.

But drug wise, would they jack up our prices compared to everyone else like the US pharma industry does?

[Ozymanithrax]

5. There is already an industry where American travel to other countries...

particularly India for various medical procedures because they are cheaper. Check out http://www.healthbase.com/">Health Base about medical junkets.

There are also towns near in Mexico that major in health junkets for people who need dental care.

[dkf]

6. I didn't think our Insurance companies covered it.

And it isn't used enough to make an impact. If we changed that...who knows?

[Ozymanithrax]

17. People who go, have money and insurance, but can get it cheaper there.

Same with the dental junkets in Mexico. They provide medical care on the cheap. maybe if we had a health care system that provided reasonably priced care, it would be different.

[Mz Pip]

7. I'm waiting for the Chinese

to develop some energy efficient pollution free technology. China will do it before we do, I think.

[former9thward]

8. The Chinese are good at stealing technology. Not good at innovation.

[inna]

9. pretty fucked up thing to say

[former9thward]

14. I'm sure you will come up with many innovations the Chinese

have come up with in the last 50 years. There is a reason they send their brightest to the U.S. and other countries for an education. What do you think that is? Because the tuition is lower?

[JI7]

11. such crap ,

[Xithras]

13. That might have been true 20 years ago.

Chinese innovation has been on par with American innovation for most of the past decade, and they're on the way up, while we're going...another direction.

[DonCoquixote]

10. Yes, but with a catch

The problem with China is that they do not have a problem with ethics; yes, Americans do dirty things, but the Chinese would be willing to do things like harvest prisoner organs (one of the reasons they switched to lethal injection was for organ salvage). I do not want to see a government start to do thing like "organ brokering".

[inna]

12. incredibly prejudiced statement

[DonCoquixote]

16. take a look

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-46247640.html
http://www1.american.edu/TED/prisonorgans.htm
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-3-24/39632.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49239-2001Jun26?language=printer
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa73452.000/hfa73452_0.HTM
http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-06-27/news/17605062_1_wang-guoqi-organ-transplants-executions
http://www.deathpenaltyblog.com/in-depth-look-at-the-law-china-death-vans-and-harvesting-prisoner-organs-for-profit/
http://www.bioethicsjournal.com/pdf/pbj2.1_jiang.pdf
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA170462006
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987948,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4921116.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/asia/17iht-organs.1.20242560.html

Note I picked a variety of sources, ranging from the BBC to Time to the New York times to actual government documents to amnesty international, all people who should have no credibility (sarcasm)

But no, you can throw around the word "prejudiced" without doing a bit of research.

And no, I do not want these folks running medicine, because if they treat their own people with such disdain, what will they do to us? Add to this that said "criminals" are often people trying to do what they did in Egypt, but no, too many Yanks will want those Kidneys.

[Igel]

15. It depends.

Would they decide to charge lower prices for drugs that they shipped to the US? Currently it's assumed that the US medical care system can subsidize drug research and clinical trials, either through higher taxes or high drug prices. Then the same drugs when shipped overseas are sold for significantly less.

Would the PRC do the same? (I think not.)