Sunday, July 12, 2009

U.S.A. Wolrds Best Health Care System

Listening to the Sunday Morning programs I have heard five people call the USA health care system the best in the world. If you're John McCain it is has been, is, and will be the best in the world for you.

But for the totality of the Nation it is a political canard and a personal lie to claim America has the best health care system in the world.

The USA is last in terms of access, patient safety, efficiency and equity in the top six developed nations of the world.

"The other five countries considered spend considerably less on health care — per capita and as a percentage of GDP. The U.S. spends more than $ 6,000 per person annually on health care, almost double that of Australia, Canada and Germany, all of which achieve better results on health status indicators. This suggests that the U.S. health-care system can and must do much more with its substantial investment in health."

"Americans' average life expectancy of 78 ranks 45th in the world — behind Greece, Bosnia and Jordan. Also, according to the CIA's World Fact Book, the U.S. infant mortality rate — deaths of newborns (under age 1) per 1,000 live births — is 6.50, higher than most developed nations. Even Cuba's IMR is 6.33."

"The U.S. lags behind all industrialized nations in health insurance coverage. The most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that 46.6 million Americans (about 15.9 percent of the population) had no health insurance coverage during 2005, an increase of 1.3 million over the previous year. It is no wonder that medical bills, overwhelmingly, are the most common reason for personal bankruptcy in the U.S."

"According to the Children's Health Fund, 9 million children are completely uninsured in the U.S., while another 23.7 million — nearly 30 percent of the nation's children — lack regular access to health care."

America has the Best Health Care in the World. That is true. But only for those Americans that can afford it. The Health Care System of America sucks big time. Most Americans know that. It seems only those who can say "I've already got mine" deny that.

My youngest son a couple of years ago was visiting his sister in Baton Rouge when he began to suffer intense excruciating abdominal pain. So he was taken to the emergency room. Three hours latter he was back with pain medication for a kidney stone and a $5,000 emergency room bill. Unemployed and without health insurance he couldn't pay it. Did the hospital give him a break or reduction of the bill, hell no. Even though he began paying on it they wanted to turn him over to a collection agency.

I also have a dying friend who has spent numerous days in an ICU over the past two years. He is wealthy enough to have excellent health care and supplemental health care policies. He has averaged more that $500,000 in cost each of the last two years. The excellent health care he has received has kept him alive without paying a penny of out of pocket extra cost over his policies.

America has the best health care in the world if you can afford it.

Got any stories to share?

4 comments:

BB-Idaho said...

Our system costs twice the average
per capita of other countries. Those damned socialists are providing a service...we are providing a business profit and an excessive one at that. Lessee here;
36% take on insurance, 36% take on
pharmeceuticals, 36% take on physician/hospital charges..yep,
twice as much....

drlobojo said...

Obama talks about cost containment.
Have you ever been invited to lunch in the "doctor's" cafateria?
Very swanky indeed, in the three hospitals that I have eaten there.
Two of our hospitals that I'm aware of have "hotels" within them with penthouse suites. Regular people don't even know that they are available, much less stay there. Who are they for? So many examples.

Life Insurance Broker said...

If you like numbers, consider these:

"The 2009 CIA World Factbook estimates that the USA ranks 180 (out of 224 nations) in infant mortality rates. The number 1 country for infant deaths is Angola. Like most of the nations with higher rates, Angola is an impoverished “developing” country. The USA, however, has a greater number of deaths in infancy than Cuba, the European Union, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore (which has the lowest infant mortality rate)."

"The “World Factbook” further estimates that, in 2008, the USA had 8.27 deaths per 1,000 people. Its death rate in general, then, is lower than the rates in Japan or the European Union, but still higher than those in Canada, Cuba, China, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Brazil, India, South Korea, Chile, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Mexico, Singapore, or the United Arab Emirates (which has the lowest overall mortality rate). Last year, the USA had 3.03 more deaths per 1,000 than Iraq (5.14)!"

The Obama health care plan means a drastic change but one that is needed greatly. The US can't afford the cost of the current system and neither can the majority of people.

Take care, Lorne

drlobojo said...

Thanks for the data Loren.
Problem is, facts just confuse those who already know the truth, like our ideological M.D. Oklahoma U.S. Senator.

Edwards,despite his pants zipper problem, is correct, there are two Americas. The Goldman Sachs America is so stupid as to believe they can survive without the rest of us. The Social Contract has been almost fully broken in America. If it is not began to be restored soon, we may write a new one. Pat Buchanan says he fears America is failing. His America already has.