| Submit your comments on this article |
| Economy |
| Article comparing health care between UK & US sure to provoke controversy |
| 2011-05-12 |
| This study systematically compared health indicators in the United States and England from childhood through old age (ages 0–80 years). Per capita spending on health care is higher in the United States than in any other country and double that in the United Kingdom. Despite the high rate of spending, adults aged 50 years or older in the United States have significantly worse health status (2–4) and lower life expectancy (1, 5) than those in England. &c. Be advised this will be used to defend Obamacare. Epidemiology has its uses, I don't think this qualifies. I don't consider Viagra use or the bulk of plastic surgery (as used in the US) to be 'health care', but rather spending on 'recreation' and 'cosmetics'. US Pharma companies are some of the most profitable rent-seekers in world history. Most likely this study lumps all such spending together. The authors mention they will provide sub-study data on request. One sub-study could be eliminating the effect on US health of what I call the 'death zone' in the states of the old Confederacy, whose community health status is typically much, much worse than the rest of the US, for unknown reasons. |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |
| #10 Does not matter, A government that does something right is very, very rare indeed. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-05-12 15:42 |
| #9 The data show that Americans just party harder than the Brits: 80% of all health care costs are related to unhealthy behavior. Mortality rates are a function of behavior -- not health care spend. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2011-05-12 15:05 |
| #8 Obamacare will cost the US around $1 trillion a year. A Trillion. We only have a $14 Trillion economy at the best of times, and this stupid assed government already scrapes $3 Trillion off the top to employ 22 million idiots. Every dollar in that government is a dollar not on the street. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-05-12 13:45 |
#7 Some more background on unexplained differences in health care outcomes in different regions:
Health indicators in the southeastern US deviate so much from the rest of the US that, when this portion of the US is excluded from national statistics, the remainder of the country suddenly looks a great deal 'healthier.' |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-05-12 11:42 |
| #6 Yes, another lifestyle factor, but diabetes usually does not kill. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 2011-05-12 08:38 |
| #5 Don't forget diabetes |
| Posted by: Beavis 2011-05-12 08:31 |
| #4 Is personal responsibility in there somewhere? The largest factors for the life expectancy difference: High blood pressure/heart disease, smoking, murder and AIDS. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 2011-05-12 08:24 |
| #3 Southern states? Blacks still not equal? Is personal responsibility in there somewhere? Or was the EEOC and Medicare supposed to eliminate the need for personal responsibility? But Obamacare will certainly fix all that - my health care with somebody else's money. Controlled by bureaucrats who really don't care. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2011-05-12 07:04 |
| #2 Trust me. The NHS is SHIT with a capital S H I and T. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-05-12 05:58 |
| #1 Most Americans have better health than most Britons. However, black Americans have significantly worse health than white Americans. Black male health and infant mortality is particularly bad. Black Americans have an average life expectancy of 73.3 years, five years shorter than white Americans. Black American males have a life expectancy of 69.8 years, slightly longer than the averages for Iran and Syria and slightly shorter than in Nicaragua and Morocco. — A relatively high percentage of babies born in the U.S. die before their first birthday, compared with other industrialized nations. The U.S. rate was 6.8 deaths for every 1,000 live births. It was 13.7 for Black Americans, the same as Saudi Arabia. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2011-05-12 02:01 |