Are clinicians any more competent than in other countries with similar levels of training? In Europe, UK, or here in Australia for example, the quality of public care seems to be competitive with the US, and the quality of private care here seems often even better.

I've heard this "US healthcare is expensive but at least it's good" thing a few times, but never with any particular evidence, and from the few numbers I remember seeing, healthcare outcomes are generally no better.

I didn't know American health care is known to be good. According to random lists I find it ranks pretty average.

See numbeo it's 39 for Health Care Index https://www.numbeo.com/health-care/rankings_by_country.jsp

Much of this will be because most Americans struggle for access to healthcare. That's the bigger issue of course, but here we're specifically focusing on those who do have access, and even with access, American healthcare isn't necessarily better than its peers.

I read the post you replied to as simply meaning it's a non bad thing, not that it is better care than elsewhere.

Perhaps that was all that was intended by it, if that's the case I guess I don't have a problem with it, the US does have competent clinicians.

But my interpretation was a rebuttal to the cost, linking it and suggesting that paying so much gets you better healthcare, something I have heard from defenders of the US healthcare system in the past. As far as I understand it this link is not causal.

In Britain you generally get the exact same Consultants working in the public and private sectors. Private hospitals have shorter wait times so on that measure, paying gets a better service. Comparing outcomes is complicated since the private sector only sees patients with more wealth

Right. That said, I actually do suspect the 95th percentile of clinicians may be better in the US. I’m not sure, though.