Abstract:
The economic cost of the U.S. health care system goes beyond the cost of prescription drugs, doctor office visits and surgical procedures/ medical image tests. The implicit part of the cost includes the global competitiveness that the U.S. loses being an industrialized economy. The high health care costs drive jobs, human capital and technology to countries where wages and health care costs are lower as companies attempt to survive. This holistic perception to health care cost is a precursor to intersystem competition that will yield better quality and efficiency thus lowering the cost of health care in the U.S.
Keywords:Health economics; Health insurance; Competition (search for similar items in EconPapers) JEL-codes:C7D8 (search for similar items in EconPapers) New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ias Date: Written 2005-10-10 Note: Type of Document - doc; pages: 2