Something at the ASI. You know we’re told how bad the US health system is? Well, it does somewhat depend on how you do the measuring. For example, in the WHO ranking system, only 25% of the grade is to do with health care: another 25% is whether it’s tax financed or not.
Timmy Elsewhere
2 responses
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Why not try looking at healthcare outcomes, such as in the OECD Factbook for 2006?
http://www.oecdwash.org/PDFILES/giovannini_factbook2006.pdf
On page 201 you’ll find a chart showing that average Life Expectancy at birth in the United States in 2003 was BELOW the OECD average. The chart on page 207 shows the US has the HIGHEST incidence of obesity in OECD countries for the percentages of populations aged 15 and above.
For infant mortality, try the report on Human Development Indicators 2003. In the category of high-income OECD countries, the US infant mortality rate per 1000 live births is HIGHER than in all the other countries shown:
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/indicator/indic_289.html
The OECD chart with 2004 data show the US to have an infant mortality rate ABOVE the OECD average:
http://caliban.sourceoecd.org/vl=9467618/cl=29/nw=1/rpsv/factbook/11-01-02-g01.htm
Life expectancy and infant mortality rates are widely taken as basic comparative indicators of healthcare outcomes. If we look at the financing of medical care costs in the US, we have these recent findings:
– One in four Americans say their family has had a problem paying for medical care during the past year, up 7 percentage points over the past nine years. Nearly 30 percent say someone in their family has delayed medical care in the past year, a new high based on recent polling. Most say the medical condition was at least somewhat serious.
– A recent study by Harvard University researchers found that the average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000. The study noted that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.
– One half of workers in the lowest-compensation jobs and one-half of workers in mid-range-compensation jobs either had problems with medical bills in a 12-month period or were paying off accrued debt. One-quarter of workers in higher-compensated positions also reported problems with medical bills or were paying off accrued debt.
http://www.nchc.org/facts/2007%20updates/cost.pdf
http://www.pnhp.org/bankruptcy/Bankruptcy%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Updated.pdf
None of this is encouraging, seeing as how the US reportedly spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country.
If all is well with US healthcare, I wonder why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California felt motivated to launch a state-wide healthcare social insurance initiative?
http://www.chhs.ca.gov/docs/GovernorsHealthCareProposal010807.pdf -
Lies, damned lies . . .
US infant mortality is so high precisely because the US healthcare system is so very effective – many babies are successfuly delivered in the US, with very-serious health issues, that would not survive to term in other nations – for whatever reason. And the average age of motherhood in the US is rising – the older the mother, the higher the risk of problem for the fetus. That’s a combination of lifestyle choices and the easy availability of fertility services for older women.
I’m not quite sure what obesity rates have to do with the way healthcare is funded? What obesity rates do reflect is how stunningly, historically low the cost of living is in the US – calories have never been so cheap. Now, this is a bad thing – how, exactly?
If we are to look at healthcare outcomes, then we should look at some other outcomes – like the average waiting time for various life-saving or -improving therapies in various nations, the availability (or not) of different therapies, and the outcomes for different conditions in different nations. If those comparisons are made, the US tends to come out pretty near the top of the league table. 6 months for an MRI? 2 years for a hip replacement? Not in the US – which is probably why Canadians who can afford it step over the border when their health is at stake.
Healthcare is a good, like potatoes or gasoline, and its delivery will be controlled by market forces, just as with potatoes or gasoline. In the US, the supply of healthcare resources is virtually unlimited and the only control mechanism is the price – although the price is artificaiily skewed because those who can pay it subsidize those who can’t. In other nations with a greater degree of ‘socialized’ healthcare than the US, the supply is limited and so the only control mechanism is time and/or denial of therapies.
As to why Governor Schwarzenegger is floating a social-insurance initiative in Kollyfornia – he’s doing it because he’s a politician and he’s trying to attract votes using the politician’s standard tool – promising something-for-nothing.
llater,
llamas
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