We all know how many speak critically of ObamaCare as it has come to be known and the myriads of failings, overall, of the American healthcare system and its lack of availability to everyone. This piece, from CommonDreams, highlights another dimension to the healthcare regime. Paperwork. Mountains of it.....and at a huge cost.
"In some countries, bereaved families get condolence cards and flowers. In ours, the survivors are also deluged with hospital bills and insurance paperwork.
That paperwork isn’t merely an insult. It costs our society a fortune. Take hospitals, for instance. According to research we recently published in Health Affairs, U.S. hospitals spent $215 billion in 2011 on billing and administration, a striking 1.43 percent of GDP.
Put another way, about $1 of every $4 of U.S. hospital spending goes to bureaucracy rather than patient care.
Other countries manage modern, first-rate hospital systems for far less. While administration devoured $667 per capita annually in the U.S., we found that Canada spent only $158, Scotland $164, England $225 and the Netherlands $325.
If U.S. hospitals ran as efficiently as Canada’s, the average U.S. family of four would save $2,000 annually on health care."
"In some countries, bereaved families get condolence cards and flowers. In ours, the survivors are also deluged with hospital bills and insurance paperwork.
That paperwork isn’t merely an insult. It costs our society a fortune. Take hospitals, for instance. According to research we recently published in Health Affairs, U.S. hospitals spent $215 billion in 2011 on billing and administration, a striking 1.43 percent of GDP.
Put another way, about $1 of every $4 of U.S. hospital spending goes to bureaucracy rather than patient care.
Other countries manage modern, first-rate hospital systems for far less. While administration devoured $667 per capita annually in the U.S., we found that Canada spent only $158, Scotland $164, England $225 and the Netherlands $325.
If U.S. hospitals ran as efficiently as Canada’s, the average U.S. family of four would save $2,000 annually on health care."
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