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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.S. Health Worse Than Nearly All Other Industrialized Countries
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/us-health-worse-nearly-all-other-industrialized-countriesU.S. citizens suffer from poorer health than nearly all other industrialised countries, according to the first comprehensive government analysis on the subject, released Wednesday.
Of 17 high-income countries looked at by a committee of experts sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the United States is at or near the bottom in at least nine indicators.
These include infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent pregnancies, as well as more systemic issues such as injuries, homicides, and rates of disability.
Together, such issues place U.S. males at the very bottom of the list, among those countries, for life expectancy; on average, a U.S. male can be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in the top-ranked country, Switzerland. U.S. females fare little better, ranked 16th out of the 17 high-income countries under review.
We were stunned by the propensity of findings all on the negative side the scope of the disadvantage covers all ages, from babies to seniors, both sexes, all classes of society, Steven H. Woolf, a professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University and chair of the panel that wrote the report, told IPS.
Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)Oh, wait...
This IS what happens when you unleash the forces of free market capitalism on health care.
enlightenment
(8,830 posts)Snarkoleptic
(5,997 posts)Health insurers are exempt from anti-trust laws and are free to collude in price fixing schemes. (just like Major League Baseball...WTF!!?!?!)
The very existance of this parasite attached to our healthcare delivery system shows how warped our priorities are.
indepat
(20,899 posts)right-wing-soused society, the whole garbanzo, the whole enchilada, the cumulative impact of mostly continuing the gipper's voodoo economics at the behest of corporatist government which operates almost wholly to promote the welfare of the most affluent and large corporations at the expense of we the people rather than to promote the general welfare.
raccoon
(31,111 posts)KG
(28,751 posts)JoeBlowToo
(253 posts)But you can't choose your doctor in those socialized countries! You have to wait six months to get a tummy tuck!
LisaLynne
(14,554 posts)doctor from a list that my insurance company gave me.
Hey ... wait ....
BarbaRosa
(2,684 posts)I'll bet we have the best compensated insurance executives in the world.
RBitt
(80 posts)Our insurance became un-affordable yesterday. Up 40% since the passage of the Affordable Care act. 11 months until I can shop on the exchange, wish us luck.
mikeysnot
(4,757 posts)obama2terms
(563 posts)But people in other industrialised also have better access to health care than Americans because it doesn't cost a fortune!! We need universal health care
bread_and_roses
(6,335 posts)We've all been aware of this for - how long now? A goodly time, at any rate. Nor will the much ballyhooded ACA improve things much, if at all. It doesn't touch the root of the problem.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)"Murca's got da best of everythin', cludin' Helt Kare!
Wer N°1! F*ck Yeah!
proReality
(1,628 posts)You just have to list everything we're #1 at from the bottom up.
kenny blankenship
(15,689 posts)As long as you people keep confusing Republicans for Democrats.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)But what good is all that if YOU CAN'T GET ACCESS TO THEM because it costs too much for the individual?
None.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Overseas
(12,121 posts)MindPilot
(12,693 posts)who come to the US to receive free healthcare use it all up so there isn't any left over for real Americans.
I heard it on FOX news so it must be true!
jsr
(7,712 posts)libtodeath
(2,888 posts)ybbor
(1,554 posts)Sarcasm.