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Report: U.S. health care ranks last »
Posted by: TechnologyExpert 2 years, 5 months agoAmericans get the poorest health care and yet pay the most compared to five other rich countries, according to a report released on Tuesday. Germany, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all provide better care for less money, the Commonwealth Fund report found.
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TechnologyExpert
I am Editor-in-Chief at Alice Hill's RealTechNews (http://www.realtechnews.com). I also have my own blog (Tech-Ex) at http://TechnologyExpert.Blogspot.com. Finally ...
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Comments: 152
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TechnologyExpert
May 15, 2007, 10:56 a.m.Poorest health care yet pay the most ... BTW, what do the other 5 countries have in common? Some form of universal or single payer health system, that's what.
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TimALoftis
May 15, 2007, 11:10 a.m.Our health care system is badly broken. My hope is that we hear a lot more on 'Heath Care' from our presidential candidates this year than what we did in 2004. America deserves better!
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DoseASpinoza
May 15, 2007, 1:55 p.m.I can't help noticing that the U.S. has the shortest wait times for elective surgeries, but the longest for emergency room care...that is how profit-driven care works. The expensive specialties get crowded and the low-yield folks go begging. Sometimes literally.
The war is overshadowing the political discussion of health care reform. Hopefully during this election cycle we will hear something heading in the right direction. Private health care savings are not the answer.
Word is the Obama camp is working on a new direction, I'm watching to see what comes out of that.
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ameliog
May 15, 2007, 2:23 p.m.The insurance companies are dictating the level of care we receive and pricing the dwindling insurance benefits beyond the reach of tens of millions of people. Our system is so broken it makes me sick, pardon the pun.
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contrast
May 15, 2007, 2:38 p.m.Not for nothing but I dont WANT the govt in charge of my health...they can barely do anything right...I'm not trusting my body to them.
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Gransater
May 15, 2007, 3:06 p.m.Sure we have the best health care in the world. I can get care at any time, day or night as long as I don't mind paying the prize of an average house. Doesn't everyone?????
Would be interesting to see how we rank against ALL industrialized countries, not just 5.
I don't want the goverment in charge of my health care. As opposed to a highly profit motivated industry that don't care about you, unless you have mucho money.
Just maybe society as a whole would function better, with less stress, less workplace errors, better attitude if the population didn't have to worry about ilness. As for cost, it's clear that the present system leaves out to large a % of the population, and severely strains the pocketbook of all of the rest who can afford insurance, with the exception of the few, who have no money worries.
:)
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ambermarie32
May 15, 2007, 4:38 p.m.Our healthcare is awful. I feel very fortunate that I have insurance through my company, I never take for granted. I cannot believe some people have to chose between buying food for their family or necessary doctor appointments and prescriptions. Affordable healthcare or universal healthcare for EVERYONE should fall under LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
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Matteu00
May 15, 2007, 4:47 p.m.This what happens when you place profits in front of people. Not everything should be driven by profits. Some things are too important and too critical to sustaining a healthy society. But we are a family values nation which is why George's solution in Texas was to sign the Medical Responsibility Act which gives hospitals the right to unplug you if you cost too much.
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mr-breaker
May 15, 2007, 5:03 p.m.well I dont think our govt is going to fix the problem. this is a govt that has always put it political interest and monetary desires over the populace.
This is a govt that has brought tons of cocaine and sold it to young men and women in the 80's (Google, GARY WEBB)
Now we spend Billions to fight in a war we are going to lose because the reality is, a combat humvee cost 60K, while to blow it up cost 50 bucks.
We need serious govt reform and until we find a way for out leaders to get elected based solely on their ablity and not their pocketbooks we will continue to see a decline in healthcare.
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Matteu00
May 15, 2007, 5:29 p.m.Sorry, wrong name for the Act -
Texas Governor Bush who signed into law the 1999 "Advance Directives Act" that allows doctors to decide รข;;even against the wishes of the guardian- to remove life support from patients whom doctors deem in an "irreversible condition."
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nostalgia
May 15, 2007, 5:41 p.m.Frankly, before I see the government take over health care, I want to see them fix the health care programs they already run. Does anyone seriously think that Medicare, Medicaid or the VA systems work well?
The entire Medicare program needs to be revisited - not just the drug program. Medicare is going broke - will never be able to cover the baby bomers yet they added a prescription drug plan. Per MSNBC - A looming Medicare shortage is seven times the size of the one that Social Security faces and nearly four times the entire federal debt. Social Security is $3.7 trillion short of what it will need for benefits over the next 75 years. Medicare must find an estimated $27.8 trillion
They can't even make the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) run as intended. This program was for children in low income families. Some states are covering adults, a population Congress never intended to cover when it created the program. Congress refuses to address the issue
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Calzone
May 15, 2007, 5:56 p.m.We should be ashamed, we should have the best in this Country A plan that every other Country should envy
Healthcare should be on top of the to do list for this election
I know I have written a lot of shoulds but thats the way it
IS the only way it IS and no other way , There is no other way every one has one thing in common no matter who you are we all get sick and thats it
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Calzone
May 15, 2007, 5:59 p.m.The hell with budgets we can pay Billions at a drop of a hat for and unjust WAR , But have to discuss the budget , Lets all pay a fair share According to Income and thats the way it is and no one should have go broke paying for Healthcare
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Calzone
May 15, 2007, 6:04 p.m.Doesn't anyone understand there are lives involved In having poor Health-care , But then again We seem to be able to lose lives in War very easily
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Calzone
May 15, 2007, 6:09 p.m.BELIEVE ME WE HAVE IT SO BAD when it comes to Health Care
If you ever have someone dying and you can't afford to help them , The you would see how bad we have it
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Miami_med
May 15, 2007, 6:27 p.m.Closer analysis of this data might allow notice of the fact that:
a) This is a group that promotes universal healthcare
b) By using equity as a core measure, they intrinsically call every non-universal system poor. This has nothing to do with the quality of care received by the average citizen.
c) They ranked Germany at the top, wich is the country with the worst paid physicians and a current mass exodus of healthcare providers.
Uh huh
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old-squid
May 15, 2007, 7:26 p.m.If you're curious, we rank #37th of 191 countries for the effectiveness and efficiency of our health care delivery system.
See http://www3.who.int/whosis/discussion_papers/pd...
Cuba ranks #39th, and France ranks 1st.
But remember - the Business of America is Business!!
Unlike other countries, the primary purpose of our health care system is to provide profits; healthcare is secondary.
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fotoman1133406
May 15, 2007, 9:01 p.m.Guys,
Reason for that...money is far more important than human life.
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amazed
May 15, 2007, 9:24 p.m.no, there are two main reasons our heathcare is so ridiculously expensive -- the first is the proliferation of malpractice lawsuits. Not only does this increase the premiums that doctors have to pay for insurance that must be passed on to the patients, but it causes them to practice defensive medicine. You present with a series of symptons. The doctor knows what you have, in all probability, BUT he has to run a whole bunch of extra tests to prove that it's this and not that in case the outcome is not ideal. All these tests lead to way too much duplication of equipment -- every hospital has MRI's and CAT's and every other testing equipment imaginable -- even those that are rarely used in emergencies.
A couple of months ago I had a kidney stone & went to the ER in horrendous pain. Two hours later when I saw the doctor, she told me I had a stone. The pain was gone by then (meaning it had passed to my bladder), but still we had to do a CAT scan.
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aceofspades1
May 15, 2007, 9:45 p.m.The emergency room has become what the GPs office was when we were kids
The administrative costs of health insurance overshadow the actual payout for healthcare
Our private hospitals are big business with big business profits
Our public hospitals have become training grounds for third world doctors
Private health insurance is one of the biggest expenses in a family's budget.
A medical degree is looked on as a ticket to high financial rewards.
Getting a serious illness destroys most peoples financial future.
& some are so blind as not to see our medical system is a farce?
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Redneck
May 15, 2007, 10 p.m.Quote: "Americans get the poorest health care and yet pay the most compared to five other rich countries, according to a report released on Tuesday. Germany, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all provide better care for less money, the Commonwealth Fund report found."
Guess that is why those who can afford to travel to the USA come here for health card?!!? Guess they just want to join with the less fortunate in our misery!!! LOL
Give me a BREAK!! Those who obtain any health care in those countries are the ones who lived long enough with their disease to be treated!! They did not die waiting in line!!
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coogzilla
May 16, 2007, 12:33 a.m.Your full of crap. The Canuck's come here cause the commie
health plan is a joke. It took my uncle 2 years to wait in
line to have an operation. He almost died. Then he did. But,
hey, it was free right? Not!
If you love going to the DMV, well same setup.
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tk21769
May 16, 2007, 5:48 a.m.In our local hospital, the ER tends to be crowded with immigrants, mostly Latin Americans. Some of them need interpreters and I would imagine many of them are uninsured. And I'm in a rural mid-Atlantic area, thousands of miles from Mexico, so it must be worse in many other states. I'm not immigrant-bashing or xenophopic, but this has got to be a factor in the ER wait times.
Another thing I've noticed is the surprisingly low level of Information Technology in the medical profession. Only recently has my doctor started using a computer to generate legible prescription forms. There seems to be little if any networked information-sharing among doctors, hospitals and pharmacies. Recently, when my wife had a hard-to-diagnose illness, we spent days just assembling records from hard-copy files stored at various offices all over the state. This is an area where costs could be reduced and care improved.
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Obtruder
May 16, 2007, 6:08 a.m.Pure BS
The US has the best healthcare system in the world.
You can always manipulate criteria to push propaganda, but you can't fool the folks who conduct valid research.
The University of Chicago - MacLean Center has clearly proven that the US is superior to any of these countries.
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