Yes you should ask why though? It's typically because the US is focused on the pursuit of Research and Development as compared to most other countries.
Gblaze, you failed to quote (and maybe also read) the entire paragraph to that quote. Here it is again:
Our country has 8 million inhabitants, yours has 300 million. Naturally you have more Nobel laureates and you contribute a higher percentage to the worlds medical science.
Let me rephrase it, to make it more clear:
It is natural that a population of 8 million does not produce as many Nobel Laureates as a population of 300 million. Comprende?
If we were to adopt some form of social medicine this would be drastically changed and we would literally become much like Europe, as some would say, "past our glory days" and others would call "has-been's"
I cant follow that logic, sorry.
All due respect, 9 months isn't much. My wife is also from the US. That is just one view of 300 million, you'll need some than that to get a good understanding of what life is like here.
How many months have you spent in Austria? In Germany? Any other country than the US?
It is not just my wife. I have lots of friends in the US as well, that think the same. Everyone in her family has the same opinion also.
Do you give an 80-year-old a new kidney?
That depends. With the available kidneys being the limiting factor here (as I have said a few times already, but I have been ignored), it is more reasonable to give that to someone who has a higher chance of actually surviving the procedure. You know at the age of 80 every surgery is a high risk. If it is more likely that the patient will die on the table, because he is to weak, it does not make sense to "waste" a perfectly good kidney on him. My grandmother has lung cancer. She is 90. At her age (and in he condition), chemotherapy would kill her before the cancer does.
Did you not see the statins statistics? We get better heart disease care too.
Mhmmm, the pescy statins. I am taking those too. Sortis to be precise. Statins are meant to reduce the amount of tryglycerides and cholesterol in your blood. Now, once your cholesterol levels have been adjusted and you keep a well ballanced diet (as you should and a good doctor will recommend that to you), you will not need to take those anymore. They do have lots of side effects, you know. You do need some cholesterol actually and Statins dont discriminate between LDL and HDL. I cant wait for the day when I wont have to take them anymore, actually. So a good doctor will take the patient of these meds as soon as possible. Of course in the US this decision is more profit driven, so doctors might feel contempt to keep a patient on these meds longer than necessary.
It might be further worth noting, that the so often quoted dietary and lifestyle differences might affect the need for these statins as well. I also think that the US has more heart desease and obese patients with elevated cholesterol levels. This I am not sure about though. So I am saying "might" and "think". I would have to check up the precise statistics here and compare them and then draw conclusions. That takes time and my time is precious.