Kinda pissed... Spent an hour pulling together links and articles only to have the site lock up when I tried to post... I'll try this again... Luckily there is no shortage of articles on the subject.
Bottom line is... You have no idea how, or even if, UHC would reduce the cost of providing care in the US... And you don't appear in the least bit interested in finding out, you just know we should do it here. Unlike Pocket, I must give you credit for actually comprehending the question I posed to you and, while futile, attempting to answer.
I found several articles detailing actual example of HOW the UHC systems in other countries were cutting costs...
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"They can reduce undesirable side-effects and are a more efficient usage of our healthcare budget."
Fake drugs...
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Drastic cuts in government-provided health care are spreading across Europe in the wake of the debt crisis and the austerity measures taken to stem the red ink. Christian Science Monitor reports:
In Spain, the Catalan government introduced a 10 percent budget cut earlier this year, which meant closing or reducing the opening times of 100 outpatient centers. Increased health charges in Italy are now being passed along to patients, who must pay an extra 10 euros ($13) for a medical consultation and another 25 euros ($33) for non-emergency hospital treatment. French officials are cutting some reimbursements for health services and raising taxes on cigarettes and soda to bring in more revenue.
Those who would have us look to the European model of health care as an example to copy should also look at the down side of that model: bankrupt countries that fail to deliver the basic care they promised, where people suffer long waits for reduced services.
Reductions and outright denials of service...
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A report in October from Britain’s health regulator found 20 percent of hospitals are breaking the law by failing to provide minimum standards of care to elderly patients.
Officials on unannounced visits found patients shouting or banging on bedrails to get a nurse’s attention. Some struggled to eat without assistance. At one hospital, inspectors found some patients hadn’t been given water in more than 10 hours.
Another health watchdog accused hospitals of imposing minimum waiting times on patients for elective surgeries, suggesting officials hoped to cut costs as people either decided to pay for private treatment or died on the waiting list.
Substandard care...
Of course, while you can sue a private company or individual for such things, your ever-loving government is exempt from such frivolity. I'm quite sure if private companies and individuals were equally exempt from lawsuits
, no matter how fraudulent or negligent they may be, that would certainly reduce the costs associated with providing health care.