According to a not-so-shocking report from CBS News, despite spending more on healthcare than any other nation, almost half of the country struggles to afford it.
Americans spend more money on health care on a per capita basis than people in any other developed nation, yet almost half say they've struggled recently to pay for medical treatment or prescription drugs, according to a new study from Gallup and West Health.
About 45% of those polled by the organizations said they'd recently had to skip treatment or medicine either because of cost or lack of easy access. Of those, about 8% said they also wouldn't have access to affordable care if they required it today, a group that Gallup and West Health termed 'cost desperate.'
While 55% of Americans are 'cost secure,' meaning they can afford care and medicine, that's a decline from 61% who fell into that category in 2022, the study found.
First off, don't miss the "per capita" part that helps fudge the numbers to make it seem like the cost of health care (which includes the billions of American health-related research and development, dwarfing that of other countries) is simply split across the nation. Newsflash: it's not.
But what else are people missing?
Because I'm old enough to remember that we were told this would never, ever happen under Obamacare!
The Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, became law back in 2010, and President Obama promised Americans that his legislation would "reduce the costs of health care" and that "families will save on premiums." He said Americans could even keep their doctors and health plans - over and over again, in fact.
Instead, here's what Obamacare did, according to America First Policy Institute:
Premiums have increased by 80%.
From 2010 to 2023, the average premium for family coverage increased 80%, from just over $13,000 to nearly $24,000.
Total healthcare costs for a family of four now exceed $30,000 per year — increasing from $18,000 per year when Obamacare was passed.
Deductibles have increased over 50% since Obamacare was implemented in 2013.
Here's the core of the problem when it comes to socialized health care (and Obamacare is a step along that path):
But because it's a government program, they will never admit failure. Instead, the cure for the problem will always be more of the problem.
Obamacare isn't failing! We just need more investment!
Look into the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom if you don't believe me.
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