To be fair to Bill that statement was made in regard to medical technology. And that is probably true in that there is most probably more money in medical technology in the USA than anywhere else. But as Bill also said when he made that statement "if you have money or good insurance, you're all set. But if you don't, good luck", so he was admitting this technology was not available to all as it should be. The reason medical costs are so high in the USA is because the private medical insurance companies profit from medical service. Those profits are built into medical costs and aren't really part of the medical service that is provided. That is what is very bad about the US delivery system.

I was very fortunate 10 years ago when I suffered a massive brain aneurysm in Los Angeles. I was in between jobs at the time and had no medical insurance ... very bad timing on my part. Because I had no insurance I was shipped off to a County hospital USC. However this actually worked in my favor surprisingly. Because the USC surgeons had dealt with many severe head gunshot wounds from gang shootings they were able to successfully deal with my brain trauma. They not only saved my life but were able to prevent serious brain damage. I actually think in this case I got better medical attention by not having insurance as I didn't have my choice of surgeon and hospital determined by a profit motivated insurance company. But I admit I was very lucky and this is not always the case with uninsured patients.



[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 05-23-2010).]