The US should take a page from Russia when it comes to healthcare

Russia has a low flat 13% tax for every citizen, single payer universal healthcare, a much higher doctor to population ratio than the US. Russia does not allow health insurance companies to meddle in healthcare the way Obamacare does. One way the US can significantly improve its healthcare is to take a page from Russia.

Russia has 621,000 doctors out of a population of 143 million. en.wikipedia.org...

The US has 1,045,910 doctors out of a population of 310 million in 2013. www.statista.com...

Russia clearly has a much better healthcare system than the US on a much lower budget.

a reply to: allsee4eye

Duck and cover friend, it seems for a large portion of Americans (not all but a large portion) go insane when it comes to questioning the way the American healthcare system is and works. I just spent two days in an back and forth with a few people on Facebook and another site over the Charlie Gard case, they and a ton of sites from the States seem to be proclaiming this as proof why a state run healthcare system is wrong and damages etc. and was called a Monster for explaining or at least attempting to explain why the courts had to step in. Yh I was literally called a monster by three people even though I continued to explain that I wasn't wishing this poor baby dead or anything just defending the NHS.

Perhaps America should lead instead of follow. GET OUT OF HEALTHCARE. Government drives prices up.

a reply to: allsee4eye

I'm not sure we should be looking up to Russia on their healthcare system.

According to Audit Chamber official Alexander Filipenko, 17,500 towns and villages now have no medical infrastructure whatsoever. Regional administrations originally planned to slash the number of rural health facilities and then convert them into offices staffed with general practitioners. They have already taken the first step, but even in many cities the second stage of the plan remains unfulfilled.

The Audit Chamber reports that some regions even lack mobile medical teams to provide care in remote areas. When local train service was canceled to many smaller towns in the winter of 2013-14, residents of tiny Novosokolniki, Nevel and Opochka in the southern Pskov region literally lay down on the railroad tracks to force passing trains to stop and carry them to cities with hospitals.

themoscowtimes.com...

a reply to: allsee4eye

I feel pretty good in regards a 13% flat tax.
I dont need government up my bum...literally. You get a preview of what our government would do with single payer have a peek at the VA.

The per patient ratio of doctors to patients is about the same it appears. But our doctors probably prescribe a lot of unnecessary tests that bring up the price. They do that around here a lot, many people get tired of the doctors here and go to Mayo Clinic and get fixed up right away there. Here they keep you running for this and that if you have insurance and it drags out for a really long time and you get stuck on multiple meds.

Thank god for Mayo.

originally posted by: Blueracer
Perhaps America should lead instead of follow. GET OUT OF HEALTHCARE. Government drives prices up.

The govt in our country may. But in other countries health care is much less expensive and they have better health out comes and it is single payer.

Wonders how many people will become Unemployed - - if health insurance is eliminated.

Cause and Effect. For every action there is a reaction.

a reply to: Annee

Actually I would expect a boom. Corp America is free from investing time/money in the health care scheme.

And let's say Medicaid took over health care in the US, they would have to ramp up. This means they are hiring.

Good Lord. Russia's healthcare system is primitive, even when compared to the USA's worst.

Forget the number of clinicians as that is not a good indicator because a doctor in the US is differently trained and used than a doctor in Russia, the UK, France or Nigeria. Numbers of doctors are irrelevant.

The fact is that life expectancy is low in Russia (and getting worse) - almost as good as Bangladesh. Private healthcare is growing significantly in Russia to serve the parts of the population that can afford to lift themselves out of poor (by Western standards) universal provision.

Also, the point on tax. Russia's tax rates may be 13%, but that model is typical of developing nations where wages already start at a low level.

Lastly, if you wanted a better comparator to the USA's healthcare then compare against other advanced and developed nations. Russia should be compared to a similarly developing nation like Brazil - similar GDP per capita, or Venezuela.

originally posted by: Blueracer
Perhaps America should lead instead of follow. GET OUT OF HEALTHCARE. Government drives prices up.

If they got out of health care and the for profit hospitals all of a sudden saw large decreases in the people wanting services and health care the prices would drop or they would go out of business.

People in America honestly have no idea how badly they are getting screwed by the pricing they are paying for the so called world renowned care... Go any place (country) and pay out of pocket and you just might be very surprised and dishearten in what has happened in the states.. while being pleased with you new Doctor care and pricing.

If I was a dictator of the vilest kind I would make sure all the kids every day at my government directed school said how happy they were to live under my dictatorship.. Kinda like N. Korea and little fat boy Kim

a reply to: Annee
let them go to medical school. Would be a much better benefit to society than pushing numbers and screwing policies for dividends.