The Health Spending 1 Percent: Healthcare Fact of the Week
5th December 2011
Ezekiel Emanuel reminded New York Times readers last week of something health economists have known for eight decades. Health expenditures are highly concentrated, with just 10 percent of the population accounting for nearly two-thirds of annual health spending. Wall Street protesters have sparked a fierce debate over trends in the share of income and wealth controlled by the top 1 percent. But no informed American aspires to be in the health spending 1 percent.
Of course, the assumption in this article, as in every article I’ve seen on the subject, is that we simply must find a way to spread the cost of the 1 percent over the wallets of the 99% so that everybody winds up paying the same. But why? We don’t make all purchasers of automobiles pay the same, whether they’re buying a Cadillac or a Kia. We don’t make all purchasers of houses pay the same, whether they live in Beverly Hills or Detroit. We don’t make all diners pay the same, whether they’re eating at Alinea or McDonald’s.
People never tire of bitching & moaning about the cost of health care, but it’s only a problem because people don’t pay for their own — everybody pays either too much or too little, with no obvious connection between what you pay and what you get. That’s insane.
December 5th, 2011 at 14:03
Mandatory euthenasia at age 75. It’s the only economically viable solution.
December 5th, 2011 at 14:10
Buying a car is not a life or death matter.
Buying a house is not a life or death matter.
Dining out is not–if you’re lucky–a life or death matter.
Healthcare IS a life or death matter.
Thus, your analogs are demonstrated to be specious.