I'm currently an ex-pat living in the UK. Specifically, I live in Calderdale, a part of West Yorkshire in the north of England. This year, I've paid maybe 3% more in taxes than I do in the US. But for that extra money, everyone gets healthcare. That's it - 3%. People don't have to worry about being covered, or if a particular episode is covered, if the insurance will actually pay. Doctors get paid and actually focus on...health.
So this week, I got the breakdown of the Calderdale health expenses (try to get this info from your insurance company!!). What I found was quite interesting and I share below.
Last year, Calderdale, a mostly rural borough, spent £254m (about $508m) for roughly 198,500 people. That comes to $2,560 per person. That is amazing in and of itself, but look at the breakdown.
Primary Care | 112m |
Mental Health, Long-term care, Continuing care | 34m |
Prescribing | 32m |
Secondary Care | 25m |
Hospitals | 15m |
Net Provider Costs | 11m |
Dental | 8m |
HQ/Overhead | 7m |
Community and Intermediate Services | 5m |
Ambulance Services | 4m |
Pharmacy Contract | 1m |
Those numbers are in GBP.
It amazed me that HQ/Overhead was only 2.7% of the total. Much like Social Security - when government does it - the costs can often be lower.
And that, my friends, is what socialized medicine looks like.