In 2016 US total health CARE spending was $3.35 TRILLION, or $10,335 for every man, woman and child. Now, not every man, woman and child generated that amount. Of which, government (federal and state) paid for nearly 65% of that. Why is that? About 5% of the population — those most frail or ill — accounts for nearly 50% the costs of health CARE in a given year. Who picks up that tab? You guessed it, government. Meanwhile, 50% of the US population has little or no health CARE costs, accounting for 3% of spending. Who profits from those 50% of people that are for the most part healthy. You guessed it. Big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations that are able to extract $500 billion in annual profits from avoiding risk, denying claims, charging ridiculously high premiums the equivalent of 3 house payments with co-pays and deductibles the size of a down payment on a home.
Even with government subsidies to big, private, for profit health INSURANCE corporations under the ACA they could not make enough profit from insuring those with pre-existing conditions and the poor and not enough young, healthy people mandated by the ACA signed up to offset that risk.
And we certainly get our money's worth on military spending? Well at least the MIC does just because it's Constitutional, right.
Do we really need 234 military golf courses around the world, an $80 million military ski resort in the Bavarian Alps and a parade of unnecessary weapons, ships, and planes?
It is increasingly obvious that our enormous untouchable “military” budget is not always being used for our national defense. Is that Constitutional?
But the reason why this overspending has continued unabated is that it enriches powerful special interest groups with entrenched hidden ties to politicians and government bureaucracies.
The same may be said of the private, for profit health INSURANCE industry.
http://www.onlinemilitaryeducation.org/secret-side/The US could well afford to go to a Medicare for All system paid for with taxes, and still save 95% of taxpayers money!
http://moneyedpoliticians.net/medicare-for-all/In 2016 US total health CARE spending was $3.35 TR... (