Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwood
The World Health Organization ranked the US as #1 in terms of cost but #39 in terms of quality. All Obama and his people are doing is quoting these stats.
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PR-2000-43/ WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION : ASSESSES THE WORLD'S HEALTH SYSTEMS
O.k., so I do a search and spend 30 seconds reading the report, and I come across this:
Quote:
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The U. S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance, the report finds. The United Kingdom, which spends just six percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health services, ranks 18th . Several small countries – San Marino, Andorra, Malta and Singapore are rated close behind second- placed Italy.
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So, the very first question that comes to my mind is why use GDP? Then: Are they including pharma R&D which would be included in GDP? Does the US dominate the world in pharma R&D? Should they adjust for that? How does France rank in Pharma R&D? Do the include medical higher education spending? Do they adjust for doctors trained here and who go back home to practice? Do they include the billions in medical aid we send to Africa? Gee, it goes on and on, and that was just from barely getting through the second paragraph. so, I will read more, look at the footnotes and come to a conclusion - but Sebelius could have saved me a lot of time by explaining her statement in detail.
---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by roachboy
ace---before we go any further, did you actually read the article?
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Yes.
---------- Post added at 06:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martian
Yeah, I don't know anything about that study. I trust the WHO.
Here are their statistics for Canada:
For the United Kingdom:
And for the US:
Life expectancy in the US is lower, probability of dying young is higher and per capita spending is higher as well. In short, citizens of the US spend more and get less, says the WHO.
But please, tell me more about how my commie system is broken.
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what if the US is a more violent society than Candida or the UK? If true what value would the stats you present have in coming to a conclusion regarding health care?
what if the US is a more racist society than Candida or the UK?
what if the socio-economic differences are greater in the US than Candida or the UK?
what if life style factors affecting health are worse in the US than Candida or the UK?
Do you ignore those kinds of factors when assessing a health care system, or do you try to adjust for those factors?