The Missing Piece in America’s Healthcare Debate

rick kahlerAdvisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

The recent horrifying murder of UnitedHealthcare Group CEO Brian Thompson has called attention to the anger many Americans feel about our health care system. This tragedy has thrust the very real issue of health care costs back into the headlines.

One article on the topic, from Ken Alltucker for USA Today, offered seven reasons why Americans pay so much for health care with such poor results. When I saw the headline, I thought, “Finally, someone’s going to bring up the elephant in the room: taxes.”

The seven reasons included bloated administrative costs, lack of price transparency, overpaid specialists, higher prescription drug prices, and more. But I didn’t see a word about how, compared to other developed nations with “cheaper” health care, Americans pay far lower taxes. That omission feels like leaving a critical piece of the puzzle off the table.

In reality, countries with universal health care are not pulling off some magic trick of efficiency. They are simply collecting the money differently—through significantly higher taxes. Americans, on the other hand, pay for health care more directly, through out-of-pocket costs and insurance premiums.