Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American College of Physicians

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Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American College... - 5/7/2008 10:39:04 PM

SugarMyChurro

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Achieving a High-Performance Health Care System with Universal Access: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries

by the American College of Physicians, 1 January 2008, Volume 148 Issue 1

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/0000605-200801010-00196v1
or
http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/0000605-200801010-00196v1.pdf

-----

Excellent, deep analysis of the situation and proposed solutions. At 21 pages it may take you some time to get through and you may prefer to print it.

There probably isn't a more authoritative source for this kind of information.

[ N.B. This is my most important post here so far this year.]

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/7/2008 11:35:06 PM

PainSmith

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As a foreigner, I'm always amazed at how much money the USA wastes on health care, especially given the very poor results. Here are the 2005 figures:

USA
Probability of dying under 5: 8/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 15.4
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 75/80

UK
Probability of dying under 5: 6/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 8.1
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 77/81

France
Probability of dying under 5: 5/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 10.5
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 77/84

Ireland
Probability of dying under 5: 5/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 7.2
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 77/81

Iceland
Probability of dying under 5: 3/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 9.9
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 79/84

Cuba
Probability of dying under 5: 7/1000
Expenditure on health as % of GDP: 6.3
Life expectancy at birth (male/female): 75/79

As you see, poorer countries with more freedom than the USA (that's not a reference to Cuba!), which are similar to the US in other respects, have a cheaper, better, health care system.

Health figures: http://www.who.int/countries/en/
Freedom Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom_2003-2006

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/8/2008 12:02:03 AM

Hippiekinkster

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Powerful post, Churro. I wish I could see the tables better, but the info is there.

"One response to rising health care costs has been the adoption of consumer-directed health plans in which the individual takes greater responsibility for paying for care out of pocket, rather than the employer or government. Increased cost sharing is one means to encourage patients to be more cost conscious and to use health services more judiciously. Unfortunately, for those with modest incomes, cost sharing has reduced medically necessary care, such as taking medicines for hypertension (4, 46)." Compassionate Conservatives, or "Hey Poor! You don't have to be poor anymore! Just pray and follow the Bush/Cheney Good Ole Boy Cronyist path to wealth and powah!" Shitbags.

Not too much farther down is a child mortality stat. Guess who won that race? Yep, Good Ole Boy Trent Lott the Racist Fuck. Well, that stat is bound to improve, just let the darkie babies die!

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/8/2008 2:08:26 AM

SugarMyChurro

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster
I wish I could see the tables better, but the info is there.

The small tables on the initial page have links to larger versions, just below each table look for something like this:

View larger version (xxxxK):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

I'd suggest clicking on "in a new window" and then close that window out when you are done. That way you don't lose your place in the document.

Alternatively, the PDF is very nicely formatted for printing and the tables could not be clearer in the print version. A PDF can also be viewed on screen via Adobe's Acrobat Reader which is free:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/8/2008 11:35:44 AM

popeye1250

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Very good article.
I noted the fact that the DoD and V.A. pay 40% less for drugs as they buy them as a single payer.
And the article pointed out that the V.A. Healthcare model is very efficient and should be copied.
I've had excellent service and treatment from the V.A.
And I didn't know that there was a shortage of Drs, we need to start training more.
I've been talking to my nephew about joining the Navy as they'll put him through medical school for free and pay him while he's doing it!
Maybe the Legions of people lining up for law school should start thinking about med school instead. Law school degrees are now a dime a ton!
It's funny listening to the people who come out against a Universal Healthcare Plan.
They try to call it "socialised medicine".
But, if we're paying for it through our taxes it's not socialised medicine is it?
Those people usually have some connection to the Insurance or Drug industries who make enourmous amounts of money from the current system.
Naturally they want to keep the status quo as they benefit hugely by it.
And, we can afford it.
If we ended all foreign aid, cut the state dept in half and did away with the depts of education and energy there'd be plenty of money.
We need to start spending all that money here at home instead of overseas!
This is the time to be closing embasseys, not opening more like that monstrosity in Bagdahd.
Churro, I'll be going back to this article again and again.
I think you win the award for, "C.M.'s Most Interesting Threads."

< Message edited by popeye1250 -- 5/8/2008 11:43:53 AM >

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"But Your Honor, this is not a Jury of my Peers, these people are all decent, honest, law-abiding citizens!"

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/8/2008 3:10:22 PM

Dtesmoac

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I have practical experience of US and UK health care systems.
The buildings and infrastructure for non life threatening medication is not as good in the UK as US. But this is superficial. Serious injury and lifethreatening care is very similar and also time scale for such treatment is simliar.

Observations from some UK doctors about the treatment we received in US is that they did not understand why some of the test were carried out before results of other tests were received. e.g. Cat scan for symptoms that could have been tested for by blood test. Only conclusion we came to was that the insurance card in US opened pandoras box for profit taking.

No co-pay, no bankruptcy for serious operations and no excessive insurance charge in the UK. The NHS is not the best medical system in the world but it provides a very cost effective system for Universal healthcare and an option for private care. The US system is simply nuts.

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RE: Universal Healthcare Proposal from the American Col... - 5/8/2008 3:14:58 PM

snappykappy

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popeye

i go to the va hosp in long beach california
i have sarcoidosis stage 3+ which out of 4 stages ain't too spiffy

they think i should have a double lung transplant and do not know if i need a heart transplant as well but atthe present time just the lung transplant both of them

all in all i am very pleased with them altho some instructions they pass along to other areas of the va line get lost somewhere

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