"In need of a cure"

Sobering summary of US healthcare situation.

(I was alerted to this article on excellent blog, Hullabaloo: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/).

In need of a cure
By Susan Brink
LA Times
6/18/2007

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-global18jun18,1,5299548,full.story?ctrack=4&cset=true

Excerpts:

But now, the knee-jerk attitude that the U.S. is the best place on earth to be sick, fueled by the reputations of great institutions like the Mayo Clinic and by America's leadership in drug and technology development, is beginning to be challenged by rigorous international comparisons. There is increasing evidence that, despite justified pride in individual institutions and medical breakthroughs, the world's biggest medical spender isn't buying its citizens the longest, healthiest lives in the world.
. . .
Amid stacks of reports, all with wonky measures of access, equity, efficiency and medical outcomes, two statistics stand out. The U.S. spends more on medical care than any other nation, and gets far less for it than many countries. According to the 2006 analysis by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. spends an annual $6,102 per person — more than any other country and more than twice the average of $2,571. Yet Americans have the 22nd highest life expectancy among those nations at 77.2 years (compared with the analysis' average of 77.8 years). People in Japan, the world leader in longevity, live an average of 81.8 years.