Here is a reader's comment from that Washington Post "Daily Dose" site whose link I previously provided:

"The US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. It is almost twice as expensive as every other developed nation. This is largely due to administrative costs which account for 19-25% of healthcare costs, and up to 34% at for-profit hospitals.

Other than South Africa, America is the only developed country in the world that does not provide healthcare for all of its citizens.

Yet, the US ranks 26th in infant mortality and 24th in the number of healthy years a person can expect to live - putting America's healthcare system in the company of Cuba and Slovenia rather than Canada and Western European nations.

And, despite ludicrous right-wing anecdotal claims of high dissatisfaction among those who live in countries with universal healthcare, the reality is that, with the exception of Italy, Americans are more dissatisfied with their healthcare than are the citizens of every other developed nation, including England, France, Germany, and Canada. Moreover, US doctors spend less time with patients that do doctors in other nations.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FACTS AT THESE LINKS:

http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf
The U.S. Health Care System: The Best In The World or Just the Most Expensive?

http://news.ucsf.edu/releases/comparison-study-shows-us-low-in-primary-care-physician-visits/
Comparison study shows U.S. low in primary care physician visits-
June 13, 2007"

Posted by: WVUWEIRTON | July 21, 2009 7:17 AM |