Interesting
"We need 10%" is an interesting hypothesis that holds, I think, only if you consider Norway, Sweden and Finland combined.
Some Per capita GDP numbers
Norway 76,266 ( x 5.10 million ~ 388,956,600,000)
Sweden 48,966 ( x 9.53 million ~ 466,645,980,000)
Finland 42,159 ( x 5.44 million ~ 229,344,960,000)
United States 55,904 ( x 318.9 million ~ 17.8 trillion)
Total GDP for those three countries combined is a little over 1 trillion. If you're right about "10% for healthcare" in those countries, then that would be 110 billion for healthcare for all three countries combined. That would translate to about 110 billion for a little over 20 million people or about 5,480 per head per year for healthcare. 10% of our GDP would yield a number slightly higher than that. But the 10% doesn't appear to hold for the countries individually. Something screwy with flat 10% mark. If they all do spend 5500 per capita, then the individual countries spend the below percentages of their total GDP:
Norway 7.2%
Finland 11.2%
Sweden 13.0%
So, are we more like Norway or Sweden? And why is healthcare twice as large a burden on GDP in Sweden as it is in Norway? Is that in fact the case? I don't know. I didn't look for actual per capita expenditures for healthcare in those countries, I only looked at GDP and population. Comparing single-payer around the world to GDP doesn't seem to be a useful method to me. Now, my math could be way off - I've been futzing around doing a lot of things and only sporadically put this post together. But if I've made a big blunder, I don't see it. Fortunately, if there is a big error, I'm confident somebody will point it out to me (maybe even rub my nose in it). ;0)
Aside: It's "preventive" btw.
Update: (So I got out of a meeting and looked up the healthcare costs).
Finland 4,449 (10.5%)
Sweden 5,680 (11.6%)
Norway 9,715 (12.7%)
US 9,146 (16.3%)
That is something new for me. I had *no idea* Norway spent more per capita than we do.
Curiouser and curiouser.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care-2013-07-30
I know it's two years old, but Norway is listed at number 2.
Some Per capita GDP numbers
Norway 76,266 ( x 5.10 million ~ 388,956,600,000)
Sweden 48,966 ( x 9.53 million ~ 466,645,980,000)
Finland 42,159 ( x 5.44 million ~ 229,344,960,000)
United States 55,904 ( x 318.9 million ~ 17.8 trillion)
Total GDP for those three countries combined is a little over 1 trillion. If you're right about "10% for healthcare" in those countries, then that would be 110 billion for healthcare for all three countries combined. That would translate to about 110 billion for a little over 20 million people or about 5,480 per head per year for healthcare. 10% of our GDP would yield a number slightly higher than that. But the 10% doesn't appear to hold for the countries individually. Something screwy with flat 10% mark. If they all do spend 5500 per capita, then the individual countries spend the below percentages of their total GDP:
Norway 7.2%
Finland 11.2%
Sweden 13.0%
So, are we more like Norway or Sweden? And why is healthcare twice as large a burden on GDP in Sweden as it is in Norway? Is that in fact the case? I don't know. I didn't look for actual per capita expenditures for healthcare in those countries, I only looked at GDP and population. Comparing single-payer around the world to GDP doesn't seem to be a useful method to me. Now, my math could be way off - I've been futzing around doing a lot of things and only sporadically put this post together. But if I've made a big blunder, I don't see it. Fortunately, if there is a big error, I'm confident somebody will point it out to me (maybe even rub my nose in it). ;0)
Aside: It's "preventive" btw.
Update: (So I got out of a meeting and looked up the healthcare costs).
Finland 4,449 (10.5%)
Sweden 5,680 (11.6%)
Norway 9,715 (12.7%)
US 9,146 (16.3%)
That is something new for me. I had *no idea* Norway spent more per capita than we do.
Curiouser and curiouser.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-countries-that-spend-the-most-on-health-care-2013-07-30
I know it's two years old, but Norway is listed at number 2.
