The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Tell you what Box if you ever have a serious heart problem you get on a plane and head right on over to the UK if you think that their health-care is better than ours. I'll stay right here where we have some of the best doctors in the world who operate on children from all over the world with life threatening injuries or rare illnesses so if heath-care is better in the other countries why don't they take the children there?
(Reuters) - Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Health
The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries -- Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found.
"As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it," Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Previous reports by the nonprofit Fund, which conducts research into healthcare performance and which promotes changes in the U.S. system, have been heavily used by policymakers and politicians pressing for healthcare reform.
Davis said she hoped health reform legislation passed in March would lead to improvements.
The current report uses data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in seven countries in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.
Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.
And yet Americans get less for their money, said the Commonwealth Fund's Cathy Schoen.
"We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality," Schoen told reporters. "We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care."
SIXTH IN QUALITY
The report looks at five measures of healthcare -- quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and the ability to lead long, healthy, productive lives.
"On measures of quality the United States ranked 6th out of seven countries," the group said in a statement.
U.S. patients with chronic conditions were the most likely to say they got the wrong drug or had to wait to learn of abnormal test results.
Overall Britain, whose nationalized healthcare system was widely derided by opponents of U.S. healthcare reform, ranks first, the Commonwealth team found.
"The findings demonstrate the need to quickly implement provisions in the new health reform law and stimulus legislation that focus on strengthening primary care, realigning incentives to reward higher quality and greater value, investing in preventive care, and expanding the use of health information technology," the report reads. Critics of reports that show Europeans or Australians are healthier than Americans point to the U.S. lifestyle as a bigger factor than healthcare. Americans have higher rates of obesity than other developed countries, for instance.
"On the other hand, the other countries have higher rates of smoking," Davis countered. And Germany, for instance, has a much older population more prone to chronic disease.
Every other system covers all its citizens, the report noted and said the U.S. system, which leaves 46 million Americans or 15 percent of the population without health insurance, is the most unfair.
"The lower the performance score for equity, the lower the performance on other measures. This suggests that, when a country fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, it also fails to meet the needs of the average citizen," the report reads.
~"the Canadian Prime Minister traveled to Mayo Clinic"... ~"Arabic Royalty travels to Mayo for simple checkups"...
And the RICH of the USA get the best health care that money can buy... Some rich Americans even have their OWN DOCTOR. BUT
Unlike the Canadian Prime Minister or Oil Rich Arabs... My health care plan pays for typical Capitol District Health Care... My plan won't pay for the Mayo Clinic for a 'simple checkup', like your rich Arab friends.
The Powerful & The Wealthy in America have always had good health care. The study didn't ask which country has the BEST AT ANY COST... they measured typical health care with typical health insurance plans. A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
MT, Certainly you're not a rich Arab... but you might as well be a rich Arab compared to millions of Americans that can't even get to a doctor for a checkup. I always had health care through my employer, but I and my family were only an accident away from having none.
(The Washington Monthly The point is who has access to this quality care, who can afford it, who'll die because they lack the necessary coverage, who'll get kicked out of the system under rescission, who'll never get into the system because of a pre-existing condition, and whether families, businesses, and government agencies will go bankrupt trying to finance such a system.
If you're a United States senator, America may have the best health-care in the world. But if you're an ordinary person with the same vulnerability to bad luck that we all have, you're better off being in Canada, or France, or Japan, or somewhere that doesn't take your insurance away when Wall Street causes the economy to crash.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
MT, while working I had BC/BS and they paid for all expenses that involved a hospital stay [ any hospital] but as a trade off I had to pay for my own expenses for my yearly physical and a 1% of my salary b4 the plan kicked in and paid for 80% of the remaining bills not involved with an admission to the hospital.
Ya, supposedly as of September (I think) I've got a $500 deductible on dr/hospital care and my prescription coverage copays go through the roof. I wonder who I have to thank for that. But, it's not a new tax - just remember that
Oh, and bottom line - if you don't like the healthcare you've got, thank a vet for allowing you to voice your opinion. If you can't thank a vet - there's a number of them that'll be happy to kick your sorry asses out of the country and allow you to live in any other country you'd like (that provides better healthcare).
The co-pay for my drugs went up as well and like you I know who to thank for that. We're going to pay a lot more for our health-care so some person who doesn't want to work can have health-care coverage. The president swore that he wasn't going to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 so I have to check with my tax man he must be ripping me off because he tells me I only got paid $40,000 last year.
Then I'll respond and say "YOUR WELCOME"! BTW, many of my vet friends feel the same way that I do.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Then I'll respond and say "YOUR WELCOME"! BTW, many of my vet friends feel the same way that I do.
Every day when I wake up, I thank God for letting me see a sunrise, I thank God for my family and I thank our veterans for giving us the freedom to live in the best country on earth. Yes, I thank a vet - and IF you're a veteran, thank you for what you gave to this country. That doesn't mean I have to agree with your political positions.
Every day when I wake up, I thank God for letting me see a sunrise, I thank God for my family and I thank our veterans for giving us the freedom to live in the best country on earth. Yes, I thank a vet - and IF you're a veteran, thank you for what you gave to this country. That doesn't mean I have to agree with your political positions.
Probably the easiest way to ACTUALLY thank a Vet is to go look in the bushes under an interstate overpass or go to the Bethesda House- because half of the men living there are probably homeless Vets- and while your at it- ask them what they think of the healthcare system ?
Probably the easiest way to ACTUALLY thank a Vet is to go look in the bushes under an interstate overpass or go to the Bethesda House- because half of the men living there are probably homeless Vets- and while your at it- ask them what they think of the healthcare system ?
Man, once again, ::FAIL Why do you embarrass yourself like this?
Speculation.
In October 1996, Congress passed the Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Reform Act, paving the way for the Medical Benefits Package plan, available to all enrolled veterans. The Medical Benefits Package emphasizes preventive and primary care, offering a full range of outpatient and inpatient services.
There are also free clinics across this country - anyone can walk in and be treated.
You must CHOOSE to receive treatment - if you'd rather drown your sorrows in a bottle or through a syringe, that's your choice - but the options are there.
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