What’s needed is tort reform, less defensive medicine, cross state portability like the very competitive auto insurance industry. I don’t want the govt touching my healthcare or getting between me and my doctor. 5M citizens in Norway vs. 310M….night and day folks, one size or approach does not fit all.

Median household disposable income in Norway and the US is virtually identical, adjusted for PPP. If you adjust our non-European-descent numbers to match yours, US median disposable income becomes higher, even accounting for health care expenses. And that’s without crazy amounts of oil money going into the public coffers.

Most people have dental insurance already–many more than those who should, really, since it’s just not worth it financially for many.

Most of our high medical costs come from “unnecessary testing,” but it’s that “unnecessary testing” that gives us the highest cancer and heart attack survival rates in the world. It’s really expensive, per person saved, but most Americans feel it’s worth it if they have a chance of not dying. Acute care in Norway is pretty awesome, and Norway has managed to instill a better sense of responsibility in its citizens when it comes to diabetes and asthma management (these ARE diagnosed in good numbers in the US, and they DO have access to medication and doctors, but lower SES groups refuse to manage the diseases properly). But the government control of cost-effective medicine means that, yes, more people really do die of preventable things.

Americans also choose to have more surgeries than Norwegians for the same conditions. We are on more medicines, as well.

Please note that the poor in the US do have a number of subsidies, including a full food subsidy, a pension system, disability benefits similar to that of Norway, free medical care, and the like. The debate is about the people who have the disposable income for some health insurance but choose not to buy it–whether they should be forced to buy insurance or whether the government should put everyone on the same plan. Right now, the government pays so little for its medical plans that the insured and out-of-pocket subsidize the government system by paying more.

Poverty rates are set at levels that are also a bit ridiculous in the US because of extreme differences in the cost of living in different areas. Three-bedroom, two-bath houses can be had in mixed blue-and white-collar neighborhoods in some areas for well under $100,000. In a lower wealth area, still without high crime, houses can go for $60-80,000. In comparison, houses in some areas start at $500,000 and more for structures that aren’t as nice as the $60-80k houses. Rent where I came from started at about $450/month in areas that were low crime. Here, they start at $1300 a month. So a family has to make more than $10k more here to even start at the same place!

Yet there is a single government poverty rate for most of the US. In many areas, the cost of living is low enough that people below the “poverty” line are doing very well. The median household below the poverty line has a 40% chance of living in a house that they own, and living spaces are notably larger than Western Europe’s averages. The structural condition of the median dwelling below the poverty line is good, and the number of appliances is comparable to the average European house. Food prices, too, vary drastically from area to area and can easily be 150-200% higher in some areas. So in some areas, people at the poverty line are truly struggling–impossibly so, in some places. In most, they really aren’t.

I’d rather have more control of my spending and be more rewarded if I work hard and achieve, thanks all the same.

Norway rules, and I truly LOVE taxes, would gladly pay more of them!

I agree that Norway has since about 1970 enjoyed a very high standard of living. It is a standard of living coveted by the citizens of many nations.

I feel that it is important, however, to state several facts to place the details in proper perspective. Since the 1970′s Norway has established itself as one of the World’s leading oil exporters. Norway receives more oil export-generated tax relief per capita than perhaps any nation on earth. This tremendous source of federal government funding has permitted Norway to provide many social programs which are simply not possible for other countries. Certainly, the U.S. does not have the capability to match Norway’s oil exports per capita. Moreover, Norway has a total population of only 5 million people. The U.S. has a population of 307 million people. Norway can certainly afford to provide strong government-assisted care for its people for the short term because of the per-capita oil export revenue currently provided. It is noteworthy that one of Norway’s current concerns is how they can provide for the future when the oil revenues subside.

Again, I believe that it is foolishness to make generalizations regarding the economic situation in the U.S. (or any other country for that matter) to Norway in regard to standard of living or governmental programs. Norway is a fine country blessed by an abundance of natural resources per capita, but is very small in comparison to many other countries in the world in population, GNP, and economic complexity. What works for them is not likely going to work for larger nations with vastly more complex economies.

I have 3 children and a wife that’s home with the children.
I get 200 dollars for every child a month from the state. My wife get about 1000 dollars for staying home with the children (but will be reduced if I have the children in a kindergarten, because the government subsidizes kindergartens in Norway.
So I (we) get 1600 dollars back from the government.
I have then 5250 dollars a month.. they take some and give some back

Anyway.. my children gets free dental care until they are 18 years old. Then they have to pay 25% of the costs until they are 20 and 50% until they are 25. They are now expected to have a job so they can pay the full price – OR be a student (at a free) university. Many universities have free dental included or have reduced prices.

They get 100% free medical care until they are 18 years old. When they turn 18 they have to pay about 15 dollars for every visit to the doctor or hospital. I make 34 dollars an hour. I work 37,5 hours a week.. more and less.
I get a 5 week holiday with pay every year.
A pregnant woman gets at least 1 year maternity leave with full pay after the child is born and a few month before birth. She also gets 100% free medical care in this period.
If you are ill a lot, or have a permanent decease – there is a limit on how much you will be charged, including the 15 dollar fees. I think it’s about 3-400 dollars. After that everything is free. Medicine included of course.
The 15 dollar is for every doctors visit, and includes the meds. It does not matter if you get 10 pills, 500 pills or you need heart surgery. It is 15 dollars anyway.
It you are retired, on welfare and stuff like that – you don’t pay at all.
The government will also refund your traveling expenses too – so the 15 dollars is usually something you get back – unless you are next door neighbor with the hospital.

We get subsidized price for the kindergarten and for SFO (you can deliver the school children earlier at school and pick them up later – and the school will the the “babysitter” and help them with homework or let them play or both)
My daughter was born with a heart defect (hole in the heart) that needed surgery. There is basically no waiting time for this kind of surgery. Buy we had to travel 250km to another hospital that have specialized themselves in heart surgery on small children. The trip is free. They fixed the heart via a blood vessel in the thigh. Now I can not even see a scar.
A few years later they discovered she had diabetes. We can choose to use shots/pens or a pump. Everything is free. Also when she gets an adult.
We also get another 150 dollars a month because of the potential inconvenience the disease could be to us.

The other children have also been to the hospital a few times. No waiting time.

If you are older and need a new hip joint for example – you may have to wait for a while.
It is not the cost of the surgery but there is a limit on how many doctors/surgeons the government can have on each hospital. They need to be effective and they have to include a lot of technology to reduce the number of man hours. So hospitals are now very automated : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rutHGN4IMB8
They can use a lot of money on systems like this – and it will still be profitable because we are a high cost country.
If you are working for a company, and they know you have to wait 4 month for a surgery – they can opt to pay for it, so you can come back to work much faster.
There are also some deceases or surgeries that we don’t have enough experience to fix, or foreign hospitals can do better. That is special instances. Then the government buys these services from another hospital in Germany, the UK or somewhere else.
There are talks now about sending more patients abroad to reduce the load on the hospitals in Norway for a while. There are talks about using some international hospitals in Thailand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScPBuig6l0 which would be cheaper for Norway, because people get back to work faster and can start to make money again – and pay taxes

They are also talking about offering free dental care for everybody. It will cost, but I think it is worth it. It is cheaper to fix the teeth early, before the patient get serious problems. Just like medical care, some people smoke, eat fatty food, don’t exercise and don’t brush their teeth. But the cost is divided among so many people that it is doable.

As you can see from my tax level and what I get back – I really get more back then I pay. If you are really rich, you pay more – but you have more money to begin with. With a healthy educated population there are less risk of being robbed or mugged too.
So in the end I think everybody wins with this kind of health care.

But with a system like this, it is important that the government use the money wisely. People have to take a responsibility to stay healthy and exercise. There are always some people that will take advantage of this system.