Because we can; just ask Celine Dion.
America is the world’s richest nation in the world. Never in history has a generation enjoyed as much discretionary income as we currently do. The price of food, clothing and shelter has never, ever, been lower.
When critics of American Health delivery systems, and there is much to be critical about, claim that America spends more per capita than any other nation in the world, they are being disingenuous. The real story is that America spends more per capita on EVERYTHING than any other nation in the world.
For example, we spend more per capita on:
- Ping pong tables
- Nike shoes
- Matchbox cars
- Pro sporting tickets
- Ironing boards
And for every other single thing that we spend more money on, American’s feel that is a feature of our system, not a bug.
Of course the critics are crying that spending more money on health care is a bad thing. As if what we are spending more on is the basic life saving procedures and medicines. In fact, what we are spending more on is this:
Dion, 41, who has one son, Rene-Charles, 9, with husband Rene Angélil, 68, has made three unsuccessful attempts at in vitro fertilization, which, with daily hormone injections and various side effects, both emotional and physical, is no walk in the park. Another try last summer worked, but she lost the baby soon after.
“I’m going to try until it works,” Dion says. “Five’s my lucky number, so this is the time it’s got to [work].”
So, at current count, Ms. Dion has had 4 treatments. Wanna know how much they cost?
In the United States, expect to spend an average of $12,400 for one cycle of IVF.
So far, Ms Dion has spent North of $50k for her 4 chances to have another baby; she’s going for 5. Uuhh, what? Did you say “another”? Ahh yes, turns out she has been down this road before:
After years of publicly wishing for a child—and enduring an intensive round of in vitro fertilization treatments to conceive—Dion, 32, and her husband-manager, René Angélil, 59, finally welcomed 6-lb. 8-oz. René-Charles three weeks before his Valentine’s Day due date.
But that’s not all. It appears that the miracle of birth needed a little bit of help:
In the spring of 1999 Angélil was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on a lymph gland in his neck. Concerned about the potential side effects of the chemotherapy and radiation he would require, the couple froze some of his sperm for future use.
Wow. That’s a lot of money. A good on ’em. Celine is a fantastically talented artist who is wildly successful. What parent would ever say that their child isn’t worth every single cent they ever earned or would earn? The fact that she is able to go to these lengths to have a family is inspiring. But ya know what? It’s also indicative of the type of health care system that is THE WORLD’S BET HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD!
I mean serious. How many of the 36 higher rated nations have the means for their citizens to have a family like the Dions?
Zero.