On Health Care

"The free market economic principles practiced in the United States provide Americans with the best health care in the world."

Supporters of unregulated, unfettered business practices are, undoubtedly, ardent supporters of this statement. Of course, the honest response to the above statement is, "Well, yes... sort of... if you can afford it."

It's true that the United States has one of the most modern and most technically advanced health care systems in the world, but is also the most expensive. The United States spent $4178 per capita in 1998, more than twice that of the next closest industrialized nation. And the United States does not get a lot of bang for it's buck. The United States 2009 infant mortality rate is 6.26 deaths per 1000 live births, behind Singapore's 2.31, and nations such as Japan, Iceland, France, Germany, UK, Canada, all four Scandinavian countries, and, oh... Cuba. The United States also ranks but 50th in the world based on life expectancy. The average American lives 78.11 years, fewer years than the citizens of Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Iceland, U.K., and all four Scandinavian countries. Oh, and Cuba is only few places lower on the rankings at #55. Japan, Canada, Cuba, Singapore, Israel, the majority of the European nations, and all of the Scandinavian countries have universal health care. The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system.

But we're America and we have to be unique, right? Perhaps we could lay our pride aside for a day and take a few lessons from that poor, communist country just south of our border. We just might learn something.