The Truth about American Health Care: Yesterday, Paul Krugman pointed out some interesting facts about just how great it is to be an American:
The important thing to notice here is that we pay more in government taxes for health care than either of these two countries EVEN THOUGH WE PAY FAR MORE IN PRIVATE FEES!
Here's another dirty little secret: Our life expectancy and birth DEATH RATES are among the worst in the advanced/developed world. What's more, we have one of the highest rates of poverty.
Want more? How about the myth of people in Great Britain waiting in line for surgery? They forget to tell you that the surgery they are waiting for is ELECTIVE surgery. And that they people who might have to wait for this sort of surgery are comparable to that section of our population who have NO MEDICAL INSURANCE at all. You know, the one's who simply live with their ailments or who go to emergency rooms for any and every problem they have.
Where does the extra cost come from in the U.S.? While wages in the U.S. and France are almost identical, our doctors are paid much better. That's good news for the doctors, not so good for the patient. (Remember: doctors in the U.S. are businessmen; you might remember a time when they passed themselves off as folks "answering a calling," like your minister or priest, but then you might have come to realize that a good many of the latter or just businessmen too.)
Want more? According to The New England Journal of Medicine administrative costs in the U.S. eats up 31 cents of every dollar spent on medical care; in Canada paper work only costs 17 cents for every dollar spent. (Ask Canadians how many of them prefer coming to the U.S. for their medical care.)
And finally there is the unholy alliance between our health care providers and the pharmaceutical industry. You know, the people dedicated to enriching themselves off of your illness or disease.
As my grandfather said, it's a great life if you don't weaken.
In 2002, the latest year for which comparable data are available, the United States spent $5,267 on health care for each man, woman and child in the population. Of this, $2,364, or 45 percent, was government spending, mainly on Medicare and Medicaid. Candada spent $2,931 per person, of which $2048 came from the government. France spent $2,736 per person, of which $2,080 was government spending.
The important thing to notice here is that we pay more in government taxes for health care than either of these two countries EVEN THOUGH WE PAY FAR MORE IN PRIVATE FEES!
Here's another dirty little secret: Our life expectancy and birth DEATH RATES are among the worst in the advanced/developed world. What's more, we have one of the highest rates of poverty.
Want more? How about the myth of people in Great Britain waiting in line for surgery? They forget to tell you that the surgery they are waiting for is ELECTIVE surgery. And that they people who might have to wait for this sort of surgery are comparable to that section of our population who have NO MEDICAL INSURANCE at all. You know, the one's who simply live with their ailments or who go to emergency rooms for any and every problem they have.
Where does the extra cost come from in the U.S.? While wages in the U.S. and France are almost identical, our doctors are paid much better. That's good news for the doctors, not so good for the patient. (Remember: doctors in the U.S. are businessmen; you might remember a time when they passed themselves off as folks "answering a calling," like your minister or priest, but then you might have come to realize that a good many of the latter or just businessmen too.)
Want more? According to The New England Journal of Medicine administrative costs in the U.S. eats up 31 cents of every dollar spent on medical care; in Canada paper work only costs 17 cents for every dollar spent. (Ask Canadians how many of them prefer coming to the U.S. for their medical care.)
And finally there is the unholy alliance between our health care providers and the pharmaceutical industry. You know, the people dedicated to enriching themselves off of your illness or disease.
As my grandfather said, it's a great life if you don't weaken.
posted by Jim | 4:23 PM
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