US scores dead last in global health survey

Tuesday, July 06, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: health care, USA, health news

(NaturalNews) The Commonwealth Fund recently released a report that places the U.S. last among six other developed countries in terms of quality of health care. According to the report, U.S. health care costs are roughly twice as much as they are in other countries, but the care is not as good or as efficient.

The report includes comparisons between the U.S. health care system and those of Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the U.K. However the criteria used by the foundation to assess and score the countries is based more on differing health care philosophies among nations rather than actual quality of care.

In fact, all the other nations included in the survey have "universal health insurance", which is noted in the report as being one of the biggest differences. It does mention, however, that the "health reform legislation" recently passed in the U.S. will help to bump it up some in the foundation's view.

The report does highlight the fact that health spending in the U.S. is typically much higher per person than it is in other developed nations. According to the report, health spending per person in the U.S. averaged more than $7,000 in 2007, while spending ranged from between about $2,500 and $4,000 in the other countries assessed.

Health safety seems to be another issue in the U.S. health care system. Improper dosages, prescription errors and miscommunication are all problematic, according to the assessment. The U.S. also typically has higher rates of obesity than the other countries assessed.

But what the report did not mention is the fact that the U.S. health care system is already a hybridized form of government care. Heavy taxes pay for programs like Medicare that feed drug companies while keeping people sick. The procedures and philosophies embraced by most in the medical field are also the "FDA-approved" kind, which typically involve only a drugs and surgery approach.

In other words, it is because the U.S. health care system is already so influenced by central control that the entire system is in the mess it is in. Corporate powers have essentially "bought" the government and they now largely control it for their own gain. Now they want full control as the supposed solution to the problem they created in the first place.

A truly free market health philosophy, combined with personal responsibility, allows the free flow of truthful health information to prevail. The result is dramatically lower levels of illness, decreased overall costs, improved quality and technologies, and real health freedom. Anything else will eventually lead to health tyranny.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0SU...