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The week's question
In March 2025, in the thread "Re: OT, out", Umm asked the members: "Do you think it is because America is made up of magical soil that makes businesses based in America magically profitable?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
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Author: tecmo ⎊☼  😊 😞
Number: of 22353 
Subject: Re: Reading tea leaves
Date: 08/11/24 1:33 PM
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A fun little fact about the US ("never socialism!") health care system is that the US government spends more per capita on public health care than the Canadian government does.
The then has a very large private system's costs on top of that.


Some numbers

US Healthcare Expenditures were $4.5B or $13,483 per person (2022)

Total $4500B $13,483

Feds 33% $1485B $ 4,449
State 15% $ 675B $ 2,022
--- ------ -------
48% $2160B $ 6,471
Of that roughly 50% is covered by the government (Fed and State)

The Canadian number I found was $8,740 CAD or roughly $6,351 (USD) - basically a wash.

cms.gov - Nhe fact sheet.

My experience with both systems is that care is MUCH faster, MARGINALLY better, but WAY MORE expensive in the US. On another note, my sense is that there is a lot of demand for better care in Canada but its against the law to purchase private insurance or provide private services. If these restrictions were lifted the level of personal expenditures on health care in Canada would rise significantly.

tecmo
...

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This community has written 21,861 posts about Berkshire Hathaway. The article-length ones it recommended most:
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