Why don't ALL cubans get health care as good as Castro?

[Herman Munster]

Wasn't communism supposed to level the playing field for all?

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15194191.htm

While Cubans on the street search desperately for black-market aspirin and Pepto-Bismol, Fidel Castro is reportedly being treated in an ultra-exclusive Havana hospital reserved for top officials.

Roberto Ortega, who served for 10 years as chief of medical services for the Cuban armed forces until he defected in 2003, believes Castro is being treated within a special medical compound in the Kohly neighborhood that's an enclave for the highest members of the government. ''It's like a spa with a lot of security,'' Ortega said.

--

Still, wherever he's being treated, experts say it's clear that Castro is receiving top treatment while regular people on the island struggle for bare medical necessities. José, 54, a retired coach in Havana whose son in Miami sends him medicines, says there's a huge black market for items as basic as Advil and Extra-Strength Tylenol. ''I can't keep them for much longer than a week,'' said José, who didn't want to give his last name.

Hilda Molina, a brain surgeon in Havana, said the black market now includes physician services. ''The doctors in the hospitals are charging patients under the table for better or quicker service,'' she said. She knows people who pay $50 or $60 for X-rays.

[bleedingheart]

1. part of the problem Cuba has can be directly linked to the US

the embargo does more harm than good...

[trumad]

Probably the same reason that a bunch of Americans don't receive it...

Isn't America supposed to watch out for it's citizens?

[Bjornsdotter]

4. You beat me to it n/t

[PSPS]

2. More important:Why don't ALL americans get health care as good as Congress

[trumad]

3. Excellent reply PSPS

[Chef]

7. Elite

Excellent. The elite of all nations get better care.

[abluelady]

32. You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth n/t

[Generic Other]

5. "I know people who pay 50 or 60 dollars for x-rays"

Uh huh. If we are lucky.

[Robbien]

6. The Cuban mafia in Miami put out another hit piece I see

Cubans get free health care, but the American public doesn't know that. Just as the American public still thinks Cuba is a communist country.

Oh well, the hit pieces out of Miami keep on coming so that Bush can push his "Democracy" on the Cuban people when the time comes.

[EFerrari]

10. It's pretty disgusting, isn't it? I haven't had health insurance

for over 13 years and don't see it happening any time soon. Cuba is something like number three or four in the world for healthcare, and this OP is propaganda.

[deaniac21]

20. from DailyKOS...

It is so difficult to explain in a short space what life under Castro is like here. I'm tempted to say something like, "It's not like those other dictatorships!" which of course is of little solace to anyone who believes in democracy. The political repression is very real, from the neighborhood watch groups that report on any potential anti-revolutionary activity to the long prison sentences for political dissidents, to the sudden disappearance of political figures who fall out of favor or are charged with corruption.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/1/1603/44138

[Robbien]

23. Funny to see only the negative was highlighted in your selection

The rest of the diary goes on to say other than political oppression, the social and health on the island is great. Which is what I said. The Miami article is propaganda because it is trying to say Cuba's heathcare stinks, and it does not.

[deaniac21]

33. I hear it's so hot in Havana right now that Castro can't wait to be

put on ice!

[robinlynne]

8. I believe they do. But even doctors have a hard time getting aspirin.

Pharmaceuticals are just not available. because of the embargo. But health care is spectacular. one doctor per 7 people. Cuba exports doctors all over the world to help other countries. Even plastic surgery is free.

[xchrom]

9. 40 million americans without health insurance

i wonder what kind of health care they get?

[EFerrari]

12. We don't. We self diagnose, go to Walgreens and cross fingers. n/t

[xchrom]

34. lol -- ain't it the truth.

[Warren Stupidity]

11. Facts:

Cuba Statistics:

Total population: 11,269,000

GDP per capita (Intl $, 2004): 3,649

Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 75.0/80.0

Healthy life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2002): 67.1/69.5

Child mortality m/f (per 1000): 8/7

Adult mortality m/f (per 1000): 131/85

Total health expenditure per capita (Intl $, 2003): 251

Total health expenditure as % of GDP (2003): 7.3

http://www.who.int/countries/cub/en/

USA Statistics:

Total population: 298,213,000

GDP per capita (Intl $, 2004): 39,901

Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 75.0/80.0

Healthy life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2002): 67.2/71.3

Child mortality m/f (per 1000): 8/7

Adult mortality m/f (per 1000): 137/81

Total health expenditure per capita (Intl $, 2003): 5,711

Total health expenditure as % of GDP (2003): 15.2

http://www.who.int/countries/usa/en/

[EFerrari]

15. Which speaks to Dr. Dean's point, we pay for universal healthcare,

we just don't get it.

[unpossibles]

19. this is my argument against the people who cry "I DON'T WANT TO PAY

FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE FOR EVERYONE!!!"

we already do pay for everyone through higher premiums and copays, etc., not to mention the labyrinth of rules and whatnot you need to decipher just to get basic care.

thank you for the link.

[ComerPerro]

13. wow. Good for you. you are the first person, ever, anywhere

to point out Cuba's inequities and Castro's hypocricy.

Props to you.

You are so clever.

[bowens43]

14. Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate then the US

they must be doing something right.

[EFerrari]

16. They are the same, in Warren's post. But we pay much more

for ours. Ah, freedom.

[Warren Stupidity]

28. The numbers are a wash, but

what is fascinating is that we spend so much and get the same results as dirt poor Cuba. I wonder how much money the Cuban heathcare industry is making off of their system?

[EFerrari]

30. Doesn't look like very much. But, they're commies ya know.

:)

[Beetwasher]

17. Why The Fuck Do You Care So Much About Health Care in Cuba?

:shrug:

How about this country where tens of millions have NO HEALTH CARE! Say what you will about the inequity in Cuba, at least EVERYONE IS FUCKING COVERED. :eyes:

[whistle]

18. Why can't average Americans get heath care as good as Dick Cheney

:yoiks:

[Horse with no Name]

21. What is the burden of Infant Mortality?

Infant mortality is the death of infants in the first year of life. The leading causes of infant mortality are dehydration and disease.

Major causes of infant mortality in more developed countries include congenital malformation, infection and SIDS. The most common cause of infant mortality of all children around the world has traditionally been dehydration from diarrhea. Because of the success of spreading information about Oral Rehydration Solution (a mixture of salts, sugar and water) to mothers around the world, the rate of children dying from dehydration has been decreasing and has become the second most common cause in the late 1990s. Currently the most common cause is pneumonia.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of newborns dying under a year of age divided by the number of live births during the year. The infant mortality rate is also called the infant death rate. In past times, infant mortality claimed a considerable percentage of children born, but the rates have significantly declined in the West in modern times, mainly due to improvements in basic health care, though high technology medical advances have also helped. Infant mortality rate is commonly included as a part of standard of living evaluations in economics.

The infant mortality rate is reported as number of live newborns dying under a year of age per one thousand live births, so that IMRs from different countries can be compared. A good source for the most recent IMR's as well as under 5 mortality rates (U5MR) is the UNICEF publication 'The State of the World's Children' available at http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_18108.html For example, the worst U5MR is 284 in Sierra Leone. (That is, 28% of all children born die before they turn 5 years old.) The 29 countries with the highest U5MRs are in Africa. The U5MR of the United States is 8, and there are 31 countries with lower U5MRs, although many of those use a less stringent definition of mortality than the US. Sweden's is the lowest at 3.

Cuba beats us. What does that tell us?
Quite simply--Cubans have better access to healthcare than we do.

186 Cuba 6.33
184 United States 6.50

For further reference, the country with the best healthcare
226 Singapore 2.29


And the country with the worst
1 Angola 187.49

Each number represents 1 death per 1000 live births.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate

[RandomKoolzip]

22. It never fails to annoy and amuse me when I see DUers fall for

drive-by talking points.

[SidDithers]

36. Zooooooooommmmm....

flame bait drive-by's are the worst.

Sid

[Roxy66]

24. Why dont Americans get healthcare?

[bluerum]

25. why don't all 'murcans get the same health care as the bushies?

[Radical Activist]

26. Why don't all Americans get healthcare as good as all Cubans?

Their health care may suck but Cubans are guaranteed some basic level of health care without having to declare bankruptcy. Americans are not.

[greguganus]

27. Why cant I get a good Cuban cigar? n/t

[malaise]

29. Every Cuban gets better health care than the majority

of the world's population. Spin away - check the World Health-Paho sites to see where Cuba ranks in health care. Indeed check BBC which says Cuba has the best health care system on the planet.

[Sammy Pepys]

31. Some of them do....

...but believe it or not is actually provided by American doctors and medical equipment. I know of some programs that have sent US doctors to Cuba, with equipment, for more sophisticated procedures.

[warrens]

35. Cuba has the best health care in the world

It is true that OTC drugs are in short supply because of the trade embargo. Not that there has been a lot of it. But if you have a burst appendix, you're a fuck of a lot better off there than in, oh, just to pick a place at random, uh, LITTLE FUCKING HAVANA???? From whence this lying piece of shit crap no doubt emanated.