Health Care in US

We started this section of the course talking about our varied health care plans. One argument against single payer system commonly offered is that the care is worse. I presented a study that challenges that -- we spend 50% more of GDP, have problems with access and errors.

Today's Washington Post reports a Journal of the American Medical Association study with the headline, Study Shows Americans Sicker Than English

Middle-aged, white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in England, startling new research shows, despite U.S. health care spending per person that's more than double what England spends.

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor.

"At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic," said study co-author Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.

The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, adds context to the already-known fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, yet trails in rankings of life expectancy.

The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care while England spends about half that in adjusted dollars.

"Everybody should be discussing it: Why isn't the richest country in the world the healthiest country in the world?" Marmot said.

There may be dimensions along which we can call our system the best, but some of the more obvious ones seem to not be borne out.