Here are some eye-opening numbers on private and public health care spending in large, wealthy democracies from the OECD (PDF, page 42):
Health Care Spending As a % of GDP, 2001
Country
Total Health Spending
Public Spending
Private Spending
USA
13.9%
6.2%
6.7%
Germany
10.7%
8.0%
2.7%
France
9.5%
6.5%
2.7%
Canada
9.2%
6.5%
2.7%
Italy
8.4%
6.3%
2.1%
Japan
7.6%
6.0%
1.8%
The chart shows, first, that the total amount of public spending on health care in the United States is not very different from that in other wealthy, large democracies. Second, the chart shows that the United States is spending about 4% more of our national private income on health care than any other large, wealthy democracy. This increased spending has not led to increased public health, as the United States trails all of these countries in life expectancy.
This means that the health care portion of the social safety net in the United States is not too small, but that the cost of health care in the United States is absurdly high. We have an appropriately sized social safety net on health care, we are just paying more for less. As such, the solution to our health care problems is not simply to root out "waste"--a long-term false solution of American political discourse--but to actively undercut the prices currently offered by health care providers.
The best way to know if a policy will actively undercut the prices currently offered by health care providers is to see what policy proposals health care providers are opposing. Without question, the policy they are opposing is a public health insurance option. They know it will force health care costs down, and that is why they are opposing it.
This is also precisely why any health care reform plan without a public option is worthless, and should be actively opposed. We can't reduce the costs of health care unless we undercut existing health care proividers.
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