Is USA really the greatest? Not in health care
What are we getting for our money?
We have been told repeatedly that the USA is the greatest country on earth.
Many discussions start out with, “If we can put people on the moon why can’t we ...?”
“Provide healthcare for all of our citizens” would be a good way to fill in the blank. Many countries that we have long been told are inferior to us provide universal healthcare for their citizens at a lower cost. How have they managed to accomplish this when we seem unable to do so? We appear to be under- not over-achievers.
Our infant mortality rate is the fifth from the bottom of the 34 countries listed in Wikipedia; our life expectancy is 53rd of the countries listed. Yet our per capita spending on health care is the highest in the world. When you consider that the under- and uninsured are counted in the per capita calculation, it means that we are spending a lot of money on a few. Not much bang for our buck.
Perhaps the answer is universal, preventive health care. Our system should not make people survive from one health care crisis to another. If we emphasized preventive care we could lower our infant mortality rates, raise our life expectancy and improve the productivity of our citizens.
It is easier to be productive if you are healthy. Being healthy includes not being worried or anxious that you are one minor health event from financial catastrophe.
Patricia Bellock
Hilton Head Island
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This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Is USA really the greatest? Not in health care."