MRIs would need to take a fraction of the time for this to be viable.
In other words, you'll need an entire day off to do this if it is even possible for you to lay there for so long in one event, even if you get breaks. And for some folks it is going to be hours of torture.
More MRI machines won't solve the issue.
We would need more machines, but even now the prices aren't too exorbitant for something done annually (or- even every few years)
If it were $50-100, maybe then.
I also wouldn't bat an eye at spending $1k on preventative care each year. Many Americans are paying that annually for premium TV shows.
MRI's don't seem that great for an annual preventative check, since they are usually checking a pretty small area (or at least mine were). Like those were 4 different MRI's to check me from head to one of my calves. Getting 4+ of those a year would add up quick. And that's not even taking into account any of a myriad of other tests that could be done every year. I'm sure I could probably take a different test every week of the year, but I'd be bankrupt quick.
It would be an enormous benefit to do one MRI a year, rotating between areas of interest, at a relatively negligible cost ($500-1k or so per year - about what it costs for an annual physical).
It's extremely cheap compared to your Dr's hourly billable rate and would get cheaper at scale.
However, there is also a chance to save a lot of money by recognizing illnesses early. Sometimes it's possible to prevent a life-long need to take expensive medicamentation or it allows to detect cancer and allow for easy surgery in an early stage allowing for complete cure instead of requiring expensive chemotherapy AND surgery for a long time with a worse outcome. It might also very well prevent people from being unable to work due to illnesses if they are detected early enough.
And that all isn't even considering the changes in quality of life of course.
And 80% have. The needs of the 80% are not determined by the behavior of the bottom 20%
Rich people get better everything, including better medical care. The upper 30% or so can afford better diagnostics and they should be getting those better diagnostics.
Many of us in the software industry could afford a few extra thousand a year for preventative care -- but it is very difficult to obtain care commensurate with one's ability to pay. This is a real problem.
MRIs vary widely in cost and that cost will continue to fall. We'll get monthly scans within our lifetimes.