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Kasz216 on 08 September 2009
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Rath said:
Kasz216 said:

Honestly the US is judged "poorly" on healthcare because of two stats.

First is infant mortality rate. The US performs worse in this because the US counts all infants. While every other country disregards infants if they're born too small, or weigh to little, or are too sick.

The US counts everybody born as a person. Other countries don't.

The second is average life expectancy. Which is effected by things like the US much higher murder rate.

When it comes to life expectancies for diseases. Nobody beats the USA. As that OCED report listesd... the US is top in cardiovasculiar and cancer. The worlds two biggest killers.

If the healthcare system truley didn't reach most people... our survivial rates wouldn't be that good.  Our system does reach everybody.  It just costs everyone differently based on your decisions.  Any talk of "treatment differences" should note that reports show that the UK has significant "treatment differences" based on wealth despite it being "universal"... because the poor are unhealthy and such things are overinflated.

Infant mortality I agree with. Life expectancy I don't. Having a few more murders per 100,000 people isn't going to have any statistically significant effect on life expectancy. The fact that your healthcare system has failed to provide increased life expectancy isn't good.

Also your system doesn't provide adequete healthcare to those who are not insured, the reason for your excellent rates of cancer is because for those covered by insurance you have by far the most thorough screening of any country in the world - almost to the point of excess.


Also new source (WHO) for cardiovascular disease. http://www.heartstats.org/datapage.asp?id=744

 

Will post more later.Forum

Ah but here is the problem with that.

It's not adjusted.  The OCED stats were adjusted for age and other such stats. 

The OCED stats measured exactly how likely you were to survive when you went in... considering your condition.  Which of course is effected by a lto more then healthcare.

Also those stats are from 2002 making them more out of date then the OCED.  Also for that matter the USA still does really well there outperforming the UK.

As for Life expectancy there is a LOT more too it then healthcare.  Your a fool if you think otherwise.

Example. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/outliers.htm

Changing America's culture would do far more for it's healthcare then changing it's medical system.  There is a reason why Italy ranks near the top for Life expectancy yet a very large amount of italians are unsatisfied with there care, there hosptials are overlfowing... and it's overall medicore care.

There CHD is very low.  Not because of healthcare... but because they live healthy lifestyles where extended family live together.