Comment by mgh95
2 days ago
I don't see what EMTALA has to deal with homelessness in this context. It largely comes down to uninsured, even post-ACA. If we can't afford the current system, it's not a matter of if, but when, either hospitals or providers leave medicare. To put it in perspective, the AMA reports (https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medica...) that physician medicare compensation has declined 29% since 2001. At a certain point, it will simply be financially unsustainable. Whataboutism to distract from the fact that medicare alone is 3.7% of gdp and is forecast to grow to 5.1% by 2033 (https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-medicare-social-s...) doesn't fix anything.
And FWIW, US Medicare spending alone is shaping up to grow to almost as much as some EU nations on a % of GDP basis (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...).). Medicare isn't the solution. It's the problem.
> If we can't afford the current system,
What we can and cannot afford is a choice, not some immutable fact of nature.
A cynical, if realist, version of this would be: if we choose to not spend any more ...
But that's still better since it acknowledges that we, as a nation, have agency in this.
Your source puts Austria, France, and Germany at the top, or roughly 11–13% of GDP.
https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-fourth-...
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10830
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the 2022 GDP at $25.46 trillion ($25,460 billion). Congress puts 2022 spending on private health insurance at $1,290 billion (5%) and Medicare at $944 billion (3.7% of GDP).
Yes, we are tracking to grow to as much as some not all or most. Emphasis on tracking to grow which you should see the source for 2033 forecast.
The fact that one program (Medicare) is growing to be as large as the NHE should be cause for pause.
So your argument is that Medicare spending might potentially approach the same proportion of the GDP as a European country that doesn't spend a lot on its healthcare?
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