10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care

[Stephen Eisel]

How about affordability and catastrophic health insurance?

http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba649

Medical care in the United States is derided as miserable compared to health care systems in the rest of the developed world. Economists, government officials, insurers and academics alike are beating the drum for a far larger government rôle in health care. Much of the public assumes their arguments are sound because the calls for change are so ubiquitous and the topic so complex. However, before turning to government as the solution, some unheralded facts about America's health care system should be considered.

Fact No. 1: Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers.[1] Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent higher in Germany than in the United States, and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom. Prostate cancer mortality is 604 percent higher in the U.K. and 457 percent higher in Norway. The mortality rate for colorectal cancer among British men and women is about 40 percent higher.

Fact No. 2: Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians.[2] Breast cancer mortality is 9 percent higher, prostate cancer is 184 percent higher and colon cancer mortality among men is about 10 percent higher than in the United States.

Fact No. 3: Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.[3] Some 56 percent of Americans who could benefit are taking statins, which reduce cholesterol and protect against heart disease. By comparison, of those patients who could benefit from these drugs, only 36 percent of the Dutch, 29 percent of the Swiss, 26 percent of Germans, 23 percent of Britons and 17 percent of Italians receive them.

Fact No. 4: Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians.[4] Take the proportion of the appropriate-age population groups who have received recommended tests for breast, cervical, prostate and colon cancer:

Nine of 10 middle-aged American women (89 percent) have had a mammogram, compared to less than three-fourths of Canadians (72 percent).
Nearly all American women (96 percent) have had a pap smear, compared to less than 90 percent of Canadians.
More than half of American men (54 percent) have had a PSA test, compared to less than 1 in 6 Canadians (16 percent).
Nearly one-third of Americans (30 percent) have had a colonoscopy, compared with less than 1 in 20 Canadians (5 percent).

Fact No. 5: Lower income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians. Twice as many American seniors with below-median incomes self-report "excellent" health compared to Canadian seniors (11.7 percent versus 5.8 percent). Conversely, white Canadian young adults with below-median incomes are 20 percent more likely than lower income Americans to describe their health as "fair or poor."[5]

[Danielle Masters]

I will try and be calm as I respond to this post.

Ok I am uninsured and uninsurable (I think I have said over and over again on here). But my case at the moment is neither here nor there.

I would like to talk about my mother. She is uninsured also. She had to cancel her insurance a few years back when the premiums for her and my step dad went up over $1500 a month. So they then joined the ranks of the uninsured. My mother is too young for medicaid. She is only 55. She has had no way to get preventative care. She just couldn't afford it. The reason they had to cancel their insurance was because they could no longer pay their bills. Their business faltered in this economy and they have lost nearly everything. All of this is sad. But what is saddest is what is happening now and I guess that is why my post is relevant. Last month I finally convinced my mom to go to Northcoast Health Ministries. She had been sick but she is not one to accept charity but she went. And she passed out in the waiting room and was rushed to the hospital. Long story short. She is sick. She has cancer. She is getting care. She will be hospitalized this week for surgery. We don't know what will happen from there. But my mind is full of questions. She waited until she was so sick and in so much pain before she seeked care because she couldn't afford it and now because of that I may lose my mother at the tender age of 55. I don't deserve that, my stepdad doesn't deserve that, my children don't deserve that and my mother doesn't deserve that. I am grateful for charity, I am grateful for amazing doctors, I am grateful for the Clinic and for everyone there that has treated her like a human being with compassion and I am grateful that she is getting care and by the grace of God that she will hopefully survive.

But all of that doesn't change the fact that had she had access to health insurance and affordable healthcare she probably would have been diagnosed earlier. She wouldn't have waited until she was so sick and in so much pain.

This is a reality that Americans go through day in and day out. I know I don't go to the doctor unless I am so sick that I have no other choice because I can't afford it. Hopefully I won't end up like my mom but hell at least I live in American where when I am almost on my death bed that someone will step up and give me some care. God bless america. Oh and I am glad we have high survival rates for cancer. That does make me happy but the fact that so many of us don't have coverage is appalling and sickening and wrong. I am a human being, my parents are human beings, other uninsured and uninsurable people are human beings, we deserve to be able to see a doctor when we are ill without worrying about losing every material thing we own.

Sorry for my rant but I am sick of people blabbling about crap when they don't understand the realities of the mess of all of this is. I am sick of people not getting it.

[Grace O'Malley]

Danielle

I'm so sorry about your Mom. I wish the best for her and your family.


The majority of Americans WANT health care reform, including public option. Those who are afraid of how it will cut into their profits are underwriting the scare campaign against change. Unfortunately, people like Eisel believe all the propaganda they find surfing the internet.

Again, Danielle, I hope you have some peace during the holiday season.

[ryan costa]

survival rates of cancer are different than incident rates of cancer.

there is a great disparity between nations in rates of colon and lung cancer. tabulate it against the big mac index and gross sales of big macs per capita.

they say jogging along a road is equivalent to smoking a cigarette, in terms of inhaling ambient car exhaust and asphalt dust.

Many times when I am almost hit by a car, the driver is a woman with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other pressed to her head: they stop well past the stop sign, looking to their right. some say the cell phones might cause cancer after a decade or three.

most people who die before 65 will not die of cancer.

Canadians have better access to preventive medicine:
http://www.phoenixtears.ca/

[Roy Pitchford]

Last week, the Senate plan included DECREASING Medicare by $500 billion in order to make the bill budget neutral, but also included INCREASING eligibility for Medicare to include people between 55 and 65.
How does that work?

Since then, they've removed the Medicare expansion portion, (Joe Lieberman was standing firm against the plan if it included anything like a public option) but they still plan the funding cuts.

How do you want to pay for all this? Raise taxes or budget deficits?

The majority of Americans WANT health care reform, including public option. Those who are afraid of how it will cut into their profits are underwriting the scare campaign against change.

No one here denies that the health insurance system in America needs reforms, but this way is the wrong way.

Rasmussen Poll, results from Dec. 14 2009

Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters now oppose the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition found - reached three times before - in six months of polling.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 40% of voters favor the health care plan.

Perhaps more significantly, 46% now Strongly Oppose the plan, compared to 19% who Strongly Favor it.

Overall support for the health care plan fell to 38%, its lowest point ever, just before Thanksgiving. This is the fourth straight week with support at 41% or less. With the exception of a few days following nationally televised presidential appeals for the legislation, the number of voters opposed to the plan has always exceeded the number who favor it.

“The most significant detail in the data is that 63% of senior citizens oppose the plan, including 52% who strongly oppose it,” says Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. “Seniors are significant in this debate both because they use the health care system more than anyone else and because they vote more than younger voters.”

[Stephen Eisel]

I will try and be calm as I respond to this post.

Ok I am uninsured and uninsurable (I think I have said over and over again on here). But my case at the moment is neither here nor there.

I would like to talk about my mother. She is uninsured also. She had to cancel her insurance a few years back when the premiums for her and my step dad went up over $1500 a month. So they then joined the ranks of the uninsured. My mother is too young for medicaid. She is only 55. She has had no way to get preventative care. She just couldn't afford it. The reason they had to cancel their insurance was because they could no longer pay their bills. Their business faltered in this economy and they have lost nearly everything. All of this is sad. But what is saddest is what is happening now and I guess that is why my post is relevant. Last month I finally convinced my mom to go to Northcoast Health Ministries. She had been sick but she is not one to accept charity but she went. And she passed out in the waiting room and was rushed to the hospital. Long story short. She is sick. She has cancer. She is getting care. She will be hospitalized this week for surgery. We don't know what will happen from there. But my mind is full of questions. She waited until she was so sick and in so much pain before she seeked care because she couldn't afford it and now because of that I may lose my mother at the tender age of 55. I don't deserve that, my stepdad doesn't deserve that, my children don't deserve that and my mother doesn't deserve that. I am grateful for charity, I am grateful for amazing doctors, I am grateful for the Clinic and for everyone there that has treated her like a human being with compassion and I am grateful that she is getting care and by the grace of God that she will hopefully survive.

But all of that doesn't change the fact that had she had access to health insurance and affordable healthcare she probably would have been diagnosed earlier. She wouldn't have waited until she was so sick and in so much pain.

This is a reality that Americans go through day in and day out. I know I don't go to the doctor unless I am so sick that I have no other choice because I can't afford it. Hopefully I won't end up like my mom but hell at least I live in American where when I am almost on my death bed that someone will step up and give me some care. God bless america. Oh and I am glad we have high survival rates for cancer. That does make me happy but the fact that so many of us don't have coverage is appalling and sickening and wrong. I am a human being, my parents are human beings, other uninsured and uninsurable people are human beings, we deserve to be able to see a doctor when we are ill without worrying about losing every material thing we own.

Sorry for my rant but I am sick of people blabbling about crap when they don't understand the realities of the mess of all of this is. I am sick of people not getting it.

Something is terribly wrong with a country that can spend trillions of dollars on a bailout but cannot spend money on people who need catastrophic health insurance.

[Stephen Eisel]

Danielle

I'm so sorry about your Mom. I wish the best for her and your family.


The majority of Americans WANT health care reform, including public option. Those who are afraid of how it will cut into their profits are underwriting the scare campaign against change. Unfortunately, people like Eisel believe all the propaganda they find surfing the internet.

Again, Danielle, I hope you have some peace during the holiday season.

I did not give an opinion on the posted article but I did ask a question about affordability and catastrophic health insurance.

[Stephen Eisel]

The majority of Americans WANT health care reform

propaganda from the internet..

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... are_reform

Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters now oppose the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition found - reached three times before - in six months of polling.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 40% of voters favor the health care plan.

Perhaps more significantly, 46% now Strongly Oppose the plan, compared to 19% who Strongly Favor it.

[Stephen Eisel]

Those who are afraid of how it will cut into their profits are underwriting the scare campaign against change.

You have obviously read all 2,074 pages of the Senate Health Care Bill and know for a fact that it will help people like Danielle and her mother? I hope that you are right.

If I have read the correct CBO correspondence then here are some things that we can discuss.

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc107 ... _18_09.pdf


24 million people would be left without insurance. (not good)

Taxes on employers from the “free-rider” penalty would total $28 billion. (we know who will pay for this)

5 million Americans would lose their employer coverage. (bad)

Only 19 million people will get a subsidy to help them buy health insurance. (ok)

None of the 162 million people with employer-based care will even be eligible for a subsidy. (makes sense)

The government plan would have higher premiums than private plans. (shocking)

[ryan costa]

Howard Dean has voiced opposition against it. Howard Dean is a guy you can respect.

when tentative legislation has enough popular support, the legislators, their lobbyists, and the legal technicians who draft the bills realize they have great latitude to put whatever they want into the bill.

Most of you will not get cancer. at least, not before you are old.

Many more of you will have children. the cost of giving birth keeps going up. pre-natal care. infant care.

The cost of treating conventional illnesses and injuries. flu. pneumonia. broken arms, twisted ankles, mild concussions. contusions, deep bruises. scabies, rabies, meningitis, typhoid, cow pox.

One of my friends from the Young Republicans cut his finger changing a light bulb. He went to the hospital. they used fewer than ten stitches to close the wound. He had an entry level job in one of the high tech IT fields of the Future. but he did not have health insurance yet. The health care expenses were half a month of his salary.

things will get more hopelessly dysfunctional as they grow more sophisticated. everyone wants to validate their credentials though. "reform" is mostly just aimed at paying for it.

[Stephen Eisel]

survival rates of cancer are different than incident rates of cancer.

there is a great disparity between nations in rates of colon and lung cancer. tabulate it against the big mac index and gross sales of big macs per capita.

[Stephen Eisel]

One of my friends from the Young Republicans

why the label? We are all human beings..

[Charlie Page]

In this health care reform, Obama and dems have demonized health insurance companies and pharma companies, among others. He says they are making too much money. Well, who does he thinks owns those companies? Everyone with a 401k or mutual fund or direct stock ownership (that would be you and me).

About the only player not demonized are the trial lawyers. Probably because the dems are shoulder deep into their pockets.

How much more are doctor fees because of the high cost of malpractice insurance?

How much more are doctor fees because of additional procedures that serve only to cover the doctors behind in case of a lawsuit?

How much more are the doctor’s medical supplies and equipment because the manufacturers have to build in the cost of their high insurance premiums?

No one talks about tort reform. It’s all the insurance companies fault.

[ryan costa]

thanks for the graphic, Steve. it doesn't list a source or describe the data very clearly. cancer by age group by country would be nice.

Tort Reform is a slogan that sounds good. but the results are usually just more and more volumes of legislation.

Malpractice reform is as simple as judge and jury reform. Trial by Jury: the judge is just there to make sure everyone has a chance to talk. get ride of the rule of Precedents in cases: this will reduce the prestige of lawyers and judges to civilized levels. it will put more moral responsibility on judges and prosecutors: the public should know who to throw eggs at.


don't blame the law, blame the judges and juries. A trial lawyer will hire themselves out to anyone, dem or republican.
Becoming a lawyer is the broadest and fastest avenue of upward mobility: If you don't get a job with Exxon or the Cigarette Guys or the folks who utilize Caribbean Tax Shelters or the big corps who pursue advantages out-shystering each other with byzantine contracts, you'll take some kind of trial lawyer work. The primary job of lawyers is to make it hard to get anything done without a lawyer, whether in the private sector or "government". Language is abstract, reasoning is abstract. at some point the more precise it tries to be, the less comprehensible it becomes. lawyerism is mostly about defending against potential unforeseen literal interpretations of law.

Professionalism-Creep runs rampant in most professions. it takes more administrators to run colleges, hospitals, private sector medical practice offices, insurance companies, than it did 20 years ago or 30 years ago or 50 years ago. in the private sector, and the public sector. Last month it took a fire truck, a crew of firemen, an ambulance, paramedics, and several police officers to help one of my neighbors walk from her house to the ambulance.

It takes years more training and credentials to be a pharmacist today than thirty years ago or even 20 years ago: many tens of thousands of dollars of education. Mostly they mix stuff that comes prepackaged. like pastry chefs. when a pharmacist screws up, it is usually not due to the lack of some kind of doctorate.

In England recently they passed laws requiring Denturists - people who make dentures - get get about 35 grand pounds more of education over the course of several years before being licensed to earn a living making dentures they'd had no trouble making before. the point is it is usually pointless.

The more they tell us efficiency and productivity are up, the more the costs of healthcare, housing in decent neighborhoods, and education keep going up relative to median wages. what is the point? there is no point.

[Stephen Eisel]

thanks for the graphic, Steve. it doesn't list a source or describe the data very clearly.

http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/con ... ll/55/2/74

Overall Cancer Rates
Figure 4 shows the numbers of new cases, deaths, and persons living with cancer by continent and for several larger countries. The numbers of new cancer cases range from 2.2 million cases in China (20.3% of the world total) and 1.6 million in North America (14.4%) to about 1,400 in Micronesia/Polynesia. For the world as a whole, the sex ratio for cancer deaths is 1.3 (M:F), greater than the sex ratio of incidence (1:15) because, overall, the cancers with high fatality (lung, stomach, liver, esophagus) are more common among men than women.