Americans are not getting their money’s worth from our health care system

For years, Sanders and Jayapal have been outspoken in their critique of the US for-profit health care system. They welcomed Musk’s criticism of the current system that leads to out-of-control health care costs. And, they have asked him to support Medicare for all. Each year, they have introduced legislation to enact Medicare for all, but the needed support for the legislation is not yet there.

Most Americans agree with Musk that they are not getting their money’s worth. Insurer administrative costs alone for each American is now well over $1,000 a year. That’s more than three times higher than administrative costs in Canada, Japan, South Korea, and every European country. In Japan, administrative costs per person are $82. In the United Kingdom and Sweden, they are $97. In Germany, they are $306, higher than every other country except the US. Average administrative costs are $194 per person.

On top of exorbitant insurance premiums, insured Americans spend an average of $1,132 a year on out-of-pocket health care costs. Deductibles, coinsurance and copays are high.

In 2020, in the final year of the last Trump Administration, a Congressional Budget Office report found that a government-administered health insurance system would save the US  about $650 billion each year.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Medicare for all would save $600 billion a year in administrative costs
• The choice between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage: It’s a sham
• Traditional Medicare v. Medicare Advantage? Different as night and day
• Why does private health insurance work well in Europe?
• Traditional Medicare’s fee for service payment system contains costs better than other payment models