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Without a doubt, the liberal regulatory state is the most evil thing the political left has imposed upon the American people. The regulatory state allows politically-connected capitalists to mercilessly price-gouge the American public, and nowhere is the gouging deeper than in what's left of the healthcare "market". The following short article written by an expat demonstrates the problem rather well:
Healthcare in the U.S. vs Healthcare Overseas
The reason he can't is entirely due to government regulation.
All due to government regulation. Here's another important part (which I bolded)
The regulations which drastically increase the price of healthcare in the US were not demanded by the public, nor were they written by ignorant politicians - they were written by lobbyists from the healthcare industry in order to ass-rape the American public.
Healthcare in the U.S. vs Healthcare Overseas
I have gout.
Sometimes the level of uric acid in my blood gets too high and I get very localized, very painful arthritis...
I take a dose of allopurinol every day. Anywhere in Latin America, I can buy it over the counter at almost any pharmacy, and it costs me about $7 for a month's supply.
I have a feeling that this price is amazingly cheap compared to U.S. prices for allopurinol, but I can't tell you for sure, because I can't get it in the U.S. without first spending close to $1,000.
For some reason, I can't just walk into a pharmacy in the U.S. and say, "I have gout, and I take allopurinol, 300 milligrams once a day. I'd like two months worth please."
The reason he can't is entirely due to government regulation.
Allopurinol is not an over-the-counter drug in the U.S. It requires a doctor's prescription, which requires an appointment with a doctor (ka-ching - that's the sound of the cash register). The doctor must order blood tests (ka-ching). Another appointment is needed to get the results of those tests (ka-ching). Somewhere in there, I have to figure out whether I want to go through the pain of trying to claim all this on my insurance or skip the life-sucking bureaucracy and pay for it out of pocket (ka-ching). Eventually a prescription will be written, and the allopurinol can be purchased at U.S. prices (ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching).
If I were stranded in the U.S. and running out of my inexpensive, over-the-counter, Latin American allopurinol, I'd be up the creek for days if not weeks and, I estimate, out about $1,000 after all the appointments and testing.
All due to government regulation. Here's another important part (which I bolded)
Then I realized that this is neither odd nor funny. It's what thousands of people have to do every day to be able to afford their necessary medications in the U.S. For most U.S. citizens in this regrettable situation, they'd typically head over the border to Mexico or Canada…but the fact is that almost every other country on the planet offers more affordable, more accessible medications than the U.S.
And this extends to general medical care as well. I've had same-day doctor appointments in Latin America. I've had same-day surgeries in Latin America. I've had house calls in Latin America.
The regulations which drastically increase the price of healthcare in the US were not demanded by the public, nor were they written by ignorant politicians - they were written by lobbyists from the healthcare industry in order to ass-rape the American public.