It's expensive largely because of the prices of malpractice insurance doctors have to carry, greedy insurance companies, and a lot of red tape.
I'm not sure what you're asking with the second question, can you rephrase it?
I'm sure some studies are out there, but how much more expensive is medical care in America compared to Europe and Japan? Sure, we pay out of pocket here, whereas it's rolled in to taxes over there, but what's the price difference?
Here in japan, when I go to the doctor I pay between 5 and 10 dollars + medecines... The national health care covers 70 % of the bill (so the doctor would cost between 15 and 30 dollars). The national health care is compulsory and costs me about 150 dollars a month (since I'm a contractor I pay it in full, for employees they only pay half and their employers pay the other half)
In france, when I was a student, the doctor cost 20 euros and the national health care covered 80% (so I paid 4 euros). As a student, the national health care was included in my tuiton fees that cost around 600 euros for one year.
I'm not sure what you're asking with the second question, can you rephrase it?
I'm sure some studies are out there, but how much more expensive is medical care in America compared to Europe and Japan? Sure, we pay out of pocket here, whereas it's rolled in to taxes over there, but what's the price difference?