- Organizations like Physicians for a National Health Program
want Americans to have the same system in place in all other Western countries
and elsewhere, including Venezuela, South Korea, Japan, Cuba, Brazil, Saudi
Arabia, Costa Rica, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. But not in America
- the only industrialized country without it despite spending more than
double per capita than the other 30 OECD countries and delivering less
for it.
-
- In a September 2007 report to Congress, the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) compared 2004 US health care spending with other
OECD countries:
-
- -- America then averaged $6,102 per person, well over
double the average $2,560 for OECD countries;
-
- -- US health care spending was 15.3% of the economy compared
to 8.9% on average for OECD countries; for Canada it was 9.9%; Germany
- 10.6%; Great Britain - 8.1%; France - 10.5%; and Japan 8.0%;
-
- -- "US prices for medical care commodities and services
are significantly higher than in other countries (delivering comparable
care) and serve as a key determinant of higher overall spending;"
high insurance and drug costs are the most significant factors;
-
- -- life expectancy in America is lower than in other
OECD countries;
-
- -- the US ranks 22nd on life expectancy at birth; post-65,
it's 11th for men and 13th for women;
-
- -- America has the third highest infant mortality rate
after Turkey and Mexico;
-
- -- heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases are
the top OECD country causes of death; America ranks 17th for heart disease
"despite (performing) substantially more invasive heart procedures
than all the other (OECD) countries;"
-
- -- quality of US health care isn't superior overall;
nor do Americans "have substantially better access to health care
resources, even putting aside the issue of the uninsured;" and
-
- -- because of the cost, many Americans delay or forego
treatment.
-
- World Health Organization's (WHO) Ranking of World Health
Systems
-
- WHO ranks America 37th overall, behind Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Iceland, Malta, Colombia, Cyprus, Morocco and Costa
Rica and about equal to Slovenia and Cuba.
-
- In other measures, it has the US 24th on life expectancy,
72nd on level of health, 32nd in distribution of care, 54 - 55th in financial
contribution fairness, 15th in overall goal attainment, and first in per
capita amount spent. If Obamacare is adopted, it will drop America lower
in world rankings by making its dysfunctional system worse.
-
- In a 2007 Commonwealth Fund study comparing Australia,
Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and US, America ranks last as in its
earlier studies on access, patient safety, efficiency, chronic care management,
and equity. Most notable is its absence of universal coverage. Overall,
the US ranks poorly on its ability to promote healthy lives through affordable,
high quality care. Its for-profit system prevents it.
-
- National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) Data
-
- Founded in 1990, NCHC is the "largest and most broadly
representative alliance working to improve America's health care."
Its membership includes Common Cause, Consumers Union, AARP, Children's
Defense Fund, several labor unions, numerous medical groups, including
the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and American Academy
of Family Physicians, League of Women Voters, and National Council of La
Raza. Below are data it reports on US health care coverage, costs and quality.
-
- (1) Health insurance coverage:
-
- -- most Americans have employer-provided insurance; costs
are shared, and as industrial America became more service-based, employment
no longer assures coverage, and when it does it's often woefully inadequate;
-
- -- in 2007, about 46 million Americans were uninsured,
and nearly 90 million (about one-third of the below-aged 65 population)
lacked coverage during some portion of the year;
-
- -- working adults with no insurance topped 20% in 2006;
the same year (before today's economic crisis) 1.3 million full-time workers
lost coverage; and
-
- -- employment-based coverage was 62% in 2007; rising
insurance costs are largely to blame; from 1999 - 2007, premiums rose 120%,
over four times the rate of wage growth;
-
- (2) Costs
-
- -- annual costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation;
-
- -- in 2007, it was about $2.4 trillion or $7900 per capita;
-
- -- estimated 2017 spending is projected to be $4.3 trillion
or 20% of GDP;
-
- -- for 2008, the average cost of health insurance for
a family of four was about $12,700; it topped $4700 for single coverage
but is much higher for older singles and those with a history of poor health;
-
- -- employee contributions to company-provided coverage
rose 120% since 2000; out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-payments
rose 115%;
-
- -- medical expenses are the leading cause of personal
bankruptcies;
-
- -- in normal economic times, about 1.5 million families
lose their homes annually because of
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