The US health care system is a complete mess, our % of GDP spending on health care isn’t that surprising given that health care is a super-normal good–meaning roughly that our consumption of health care rises more rapidly than our incomes–and the US is extremely wealthy, and yet it works decently well on some margins. Nationalizing health care, especially in a country that is as politically explosive as the US, will probably shut off even the things American health care does well.
I developed a blocked salivary gland over the last few days that resulted in swelling and excruciating pain earlier today. I used The Google to explore treatment options, and then sought medical attention at a local Doc-in-a-Box when the pain became difficult to bear. I was treated promptly, even after I had to call my wife to get our insurance information. The treatment consisted of a steroid shot (close your eyes and think of Jose Canseco) for the swelling, a recommendation to see an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist to have the blockage imaged, and a prescription for pain meds. The swelling is way down, I’m much more comfortable now than I was just a few long hours ago, and I haven’t even started the pain meds (I took some ibuprofen before I left for the doctor’s office).
My guess is that in a socialized system I wouldn’t have access to this kind of treatment. In a system in which health services are rationed by something other than price, I would be bumped way down the priority list and would have to wait. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but as of a few hours ago I had a very high willingness to pay for relief. I have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks and the pain would have been a most inconvenient distraction.
My experience also illustrates an important point about the health care debate. You’ve probably heard the well-worn trope about the US spending a higher percentage of GDP on health care and having lower life expectancy/higher infant mortality/etc. Laying aside the statistical problems with these claims (and there are many), we are poorly-served if we don’t count basic pain relief as part of our set of health outcomes that are important. My trip to the doctor today is probably going to have a trivial effect on my lifespan and almost certainly won’t do much for infant mortality and life expectancy (though there is probably going to be a teeny-tiny effect: econ students, can you explain it?). Nonetheless, I and the people around me are much better off as a result of the fact that I was able to secure some fairly mundane pain relief.
