No wonder America rates so badly in the health stakes

Nicholas Kristof, writing his latest column in The New York Times, relates the tragic story of someone with bowel cancer who has, to date, been unable to afford proper medical care. Read that part of the piece here.

Kristof goes on to detail the very poor state of health care and health-related outcomes in America. And this in a country said to be wealthy, urbanised and civilised!

"The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council this year ranked the United States health care system last or near last in several categories among 17 countries studied. The Commonwealth Fund put the United States dead last of seven industrialized countries in health care performance. And Bloomberg journalists ranked the United States health care system No. 46 in efficiency worldwide, behind Romania and Iran.

The reason is simple: While some Americans get superb care, tens of millions without insurance get marginal care. That’s one reason life expectancy is relatively low in America, and child mortality is twice as high as in some European countries. Now that’s a scandal.

Yet about half the states are refusing to expand Medicaid to cover more uninsured people — because they don’t trust Obamacare and want it to fail."

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