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eigenspace 14 hours ago

No, I mean on an age-corrected basis, throughout the spectrum of ages.

i.e. young americans are spending more on health care than young americans used to, even if it's also true that there are fewer young americans now, and more old americans.

bluGill 13 hours ago | parent | next [-]

There is a lot more to spend it on. I'm gen-X, ADHD wasn't even heard of by most people until I was in college, and then it was only diagnosed/treated in the worst cases. Today most kids I know are on some medication for ADHD. A few years ago a friend of mine was told "too bad you are not 25 - I know what treatment you need but we can't give it to someone over 25" - he went to the Mayo clinic for his condition at 23 but the treatment didn't even exist yet so it was a waste of time.

In 1860 someone who went to a doctor would have worse outcomes than someone who stayed home. As medicine gets better over time there is more and more value in seeing a doctor. In turn more an more people are talking to their doctor about things that they would have just ignored a few generations ago. Sometimes this results in unnecessary treatment, but it also results in catching and fixing a lot of real problems that would have made life worse before we could treat it.

eigenspace 13 hours ago | parent [-]

Sure, this is of course true, but there's also a reason that Americans spend way way more on their healthcare than any other developed nation, and it's not that they have better healthcare, or more healthcare options.

IncreasePosts 13 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Part of the Obamacare mandate was forcing young men into health insurance policies when in the past they had a much higher opt out percentage.

silverquiet 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

As a young man, can I opt into Medicare since I'm opted in to paying for it?

eigenspace 13 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Sure, but that's not what's driving these increases in costs.

SoftTalker 13 hours ago | parent [-]

Why not? Higher demand -> Higher prices.

amanaplanacanal 12 hours ago | parent [-]

I don't see how that applies to insurance. The demand pays for it's own supply. The insurance company doesn't have to ramp up production somehow.