America Spends $7000 On Health Care For Each Person
This is one reason anti-universal healthcare advocates in America point to and say there’s no need for universal health care, as the government already spends $7000 per person for health care. Personally, I beleive the figure is to be true, and not just because Michael Moore says so in Sicko, but the Department of Human Health and Services says so.
However, spending the most money never guarentees that we get the best services. Besides, due to skyrocketing health care costs, that $7000 just doesn’t get what it used to. I haven’t been able to find just how that $7000 breaks down — into how much goes to doctors, how much goes to medicines and how much goes into the pockets of health insurance companies. If someone can find that information, I’d love to see it, even if it does make my argument look bad. I’m just dying of curiousity here.
America Leads In
With all that money spent, we should be the healthiest people on the planet, right? You know the answer to that one. America has the third worst death rates for infants (behind Turkey and Mexico). In a 2007 Congressional study that looked at the lifespans of just 40 nations, Americans came in dead last. (Pun not intended). We also have the highest obesity rate.
$7000 Still Not An Argument
Despite the money spent, America has a lot of sick people in it. Eventually, these ill people loose their jobs, their homes and then the American government pays more to try and save their lives. For people who worship money, the savings alone should be reason enough to have universal health care in America.
The current system of turning health care into a for-profit-no-matter-how-many-suffer business isn’t working. It’s Catch -22 with stethoscopes.
Let’s think of how that $7000 could be better spent. $7000 can get a lot of marijuana and ice cream. If we can’t get health care, life-saving medicines or a place to live that isn’t heavily polluted, then our health insurance companies should at least give us a weekly ration of marijuana and ice cream. That way, at least, we won’t care so much about being screwed over.
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