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This article compares McAllen, Texas, the city with one of the highest Medicare costs per capita in the country, at nearly twice the national average, with cities with Medicare costs less than the national average. Health outcomes are the same(!).
Relevance to financial planning: The article makes a compelling argument that doctors that have a revenue interest in what they prescribe (by way of procedures etc.) then overprescribe, and with no superior effect in health outcomes. The solution is not at all necessarily a single payer system but promoting the use of models like the Mayo clinics (details are in the article).