https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-countries-with-the-best-and-worst-health-care-in-2026/
There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary and those who don't.
I don’t know how they rank countries but in my experience the number one factor in quality of healthcare surgery where you have time to select your surgeon (non-ER) is patient intelligence. Do your homework.
It's hard to take seriously a poll that lists Ecuador's health care higher than the U.S.'s.
That said, yeah, our costs might be out of control. It depends, though, on what we count--maybe because we have access to so many great things, we spend more on them? Things that Ecuadorians don't have access to?
Last year Trump pushed for and got almost $1 trillion in healthcare cuts over the next ten years. The CBO concluded that would result in 10 million people losing their health insurance by 2034. This year, the administration blocked all efforts to extend the ACA/Obamacare subsidies for people buying health insurance on the state exchanges. (Trump hates Obama). Trump said something along the lines of, "Hey, no need to extend those subsidies, I've got something better and cheaper coming soon, like nobody's ever seen before."
Of course, and just like his empty healthcare promises in his first term, no broad, affordable health care reform materialized. Instead, there've been a couple of measures to lower the cost of some prescription drugs, more incentives to create healthcare savings accounts, and a rollback of regulations on catastrophic coverage plans. That last development makes it easier for young, healthy people to buy a bare-bones plan but does nothing for those who are older or suffer from chronic conditions.
I see on your chart that the US pays the most on healthcare but ranks a very mediocre 40th globally in healthcare quality. We even trail Mexico.
Oh and, since early '25, the CDC has been gutted, funding for medical research has been slashed, and the closing of rural hospitals is accelerating at an alarming rate thanks to Medicaid budget cuts and ACA and coverage rollbacks.
It's all Biden's fault.
Trump said something along the lines of, "Hey, no need to extend those subsidies, I've got something better and cheaper coming soon, like nobody's ever seen before."
I'm not sure what he's talking about there, but I'd guess it's his Trump RX thing. What's funny about that is it's just an aggregator site - it doesn't actually sell less expensive drugs, it just points you where you can buy the least expensive option. That is a helpful tool, but it's not significantly bringing down the cost of healthcare in this county.
t's hard to take seriously a poll that lists Ecuador's health care higher than the U.S.'s.
That said, yeah, our costs might be out of control. It depends, though, on what we count--maybe because we have access to so many great things, we spend more on them? Things that Ecuadorians don't have access to?
I don't know enough about Ecuador or a handful of other countries on that list to say how much good, better, or worse they are than the US system.
I'd have to think the number of healthcare bankruptcies in the US is probably factored into that ranking system in the original link. I do think costs are important, but at the end of the day I think ranking outcomes is the best way to rank healthcare. I still don't think the US fares well in those rankings either.
@ohio-guy there's no way trump can do anything meaningful. it's baked in now. one in ten people work in healthcare. managed care companies are massive. prescription benefits managers. the business of healthcare is probably at this point bigger than healthcare. the economic implications and ramifications of major reform would have one hell of an impact on the economy at this point.
..the number of healthcare bankruptcies in the US is probably factored into that ranking system in the original link.
Bingo. Pretty much only in the USA can you be a multimillionaire in retirement, having saved and done everything right, and still you can die a bankrupt pauper due to some protracted illness that the paper pushers insist just can't be covered.
"You can't make someone listen to reason if they aren't willing to think"-- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
@larsiu actually right. True. We have centene. Express scripts. Massive companies. Shit ton of executives making bank. Huge companies. All healthcare. Not one person actually providing medical care
This isn’t something Trump or the next guy can fix. Maybe Ai
One benefit of AI will be lower prices. Now, how will anyone afford it while they are unemployed? UBI? Who knows.@larsiu actually right. True. We have centene. Express scripts. Massive companies. Shit ton of executives making bank. Huge companies. All healthcare. Not one person actually providing medical care
This isn’t something Trump or the next guy can fix. Maybe Ai
@larsiu remember abacus. You know 90 percent of administrators benefits managers can be axed with ai
It's hard to take seriously a poll that lists Ecuador's health care higher than the U.S.'s.
That said, yeah, our costs might be out of control. It depends, though, on what we count--maybe because we have access to so many great things, we spend more on them? Things that Ecuadorians don't have access to?
I go to Mexico for all my healthcare needs. You can't beat BBL nurses.