Just my two cents. High cost of U.S Healthcare.

Recently I found this article from Investopedia from October of this year. Here's several reasons I think we have such high costs for Insurance and medical care in the United States.

1. Rising Drug Costs 

  Americans shell out, on average, almost twice as much for pharmaceutical drugs as people in other industrialized countries. High drug prices are the single biggest area of overspending in the U.S. Compare that to Europe, where drug prices are government-regulated and often based on the clinical benefit of the medication. 

In the U.S., private insurers can negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, often through the services of pharmacy benefit managers. However, Medicare, which pays for a hefty percentage of the national drug costs, is not permitted to negotiate prices with manufacturers.

2.Higher Salaries for Medical Professionals  

The average annual salary for a family doctor in the United States was $239,200 in 2023. Emergency room physicians commanded an average annual salary of $306,640.8 That's much higher than the average in other industrialized countries, including Germany ($183,000), Canada ($194,777), and the United Kingdom ($138,000).9 

 The U.S.-managed care plans may succeed in lowering healthcare costs by requiring prior authorization for seeing a high-priced specialist. Using a nurse practitioner instead of a family doctor can also save money.

  3. Profit-Driven Hospitals  

Hospital care accounts for a significant portion of the nation’s healthcare costs. Expenditures in this category are projected to grow 5.7%. This figure includes COVID-19 relief.2 Prices in the United States remain high for inpatient services compared to other countries, according to a report released by the Health Care Cost Institute in July 2022. For instance:

• A hip replacement was $28,167 in the U.S., compared to $16,622 in New Zealand, which was the next most expensive.
• Patients paid $11,326 for a C-section in the U.S. The next highest cost was $7,948 in Switzerland.12

  4. Defensive Medical Practices  

Both physicians and hospitals have an interest in preventing lawsuits so that “just in case” tests and scans may be ordered. These tests are incredibly costly for a patient. Consider these statistics from 2022:

• The average cost of an MRI in the U.S. was $580, second to New Zealand's $819, though higher than the $120 paid for in Spain.
• A CT scan in the U.S. cost $553 compared to $78 in Spain. Keep in mind that it is higher in New Zealand and South Africa, where these tests cost $655 and $576, respectively.13

Researchers state that it’s not just the sheer number of tests and procedures, but their high price, that explains why it’s so expensive to be sick in the U.S.