| Rath said: @Kasz. I would argue that the standard of healthcare in the USA is indeed higher, but I do not like the fact that it is not entirely accessible. Socialising healthcare would cause the average standard of healthcare to drop but it would also cause the number of people with access to healthcare to increase. Its a tradeoff that I definately think is worthwhile and the statistics back it up (see the link down the bottom). So yes, medical care in the USA is very good, but only for those who actually have access to it. For those who don't, medical care in the USA is rubbish. Thats why the World Health Organisation ranks the USA so low; http://www.photius.com/rankings/who_world_health_ranks.html The USA spends the most per capita, has the fastest responsiveness but its healthcare system is ranked 37th in the world and overall health is ranked 72nd. Only the last statistic takes into account the cultural factors. This is why the USA is ranked behind almost every country in Western Europe. http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html Thats probably all already been argued in this thread but I really can't be bothered reading through pages of arguments on the internet. |
Well the main problem with the WHO's ranking system is that you could have a health system in which everyone is perfectly taken care of and still end up ranking too low.
That and the parts that are based on health are self reporting on how healthy you "feel."
Which makes the one useful part of the entire survey useless due to cultural differences.
Because how you "feel" is largely based on your culture. Poll Moscow and Pittsburgh about how big lines are at their local Mcdonalds based on how they "feel" about it and you'd come to the conclusion that the lines in Pittsburgh are much longer.
The truth is... the lines for Mcdonalds in Moscow are some of the longest in the world. By design. They used to have giant McDonalds with no waiting... but people would walk in and walk out... because if there wasn't a line... it must not be worth it. Or at least that was the thought broguht on to people who lived during the communist era.
They closed up 3/4ths of their lines... and suddenly their buisness boomed. Ok. Got sidetracked... but i love that story. You get my point.
People in the US more then anywhere else in the world are told they are unhealthy, from everyone and everywhere basically... News media and commercials and all.
