Eideard

American medical care might be the most expensive in the world, but it is getting increasingly difficult to argue that it is worth every penny. A new study highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers, compared with health care in many other industrialized nations.

The report, prepared by an influential health policy research group, provides evidence of just how frequently the country falls short of its own standards of care and those of its global peers. While the United States spends more than twice as much per capita on health care as most other industrialized countries, including France, it has fallen to last place among those countries in being able to prevent deaths with timely and effective medical care, according the report by the Commonwealth Fund, a not-for-profit research group in New York.

Access to care in the United States has worsened as more people – about 75 million – are believed to lack adequate health insurance or be uninsured altogether. And within the nation, the cost and quality of care varies dramatically, the report found…

“People are now aware that you can do better,” said Karen Davis, the president of the Commonwealth Fund. “It’s harder to keep deluding yourself or be complacent that we don’t have areas that need improvement…”

A very readable article. The core fact is that every other modern industrial nation spends less for their health care and gets better results.

You have to wonder what really lies at the heart of opposition to a change for a better system? The obvious propaganda from providers and insurers is a given. But, there’s the bloc of nay-sayers who seem to oppose any kind of change as being un-American.

Anyone who confuses health care and a better life for American citizens with “patriotism” is dumber than a hoe handle. Is that clear enough?

What ever happened to enlightened self-interest?