France is leader in health care, US dead last

http://real-us.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/ts_alt_afp/ushealthfrancemortality;_ylt=ApUkgwMaDD1qRe3TmHbbs8hH2ocA

The study, entitled "Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis," was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It looked at death rates in subjects younger than 75 that could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care

The 19 countries, in order of best to worst, were: France, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Some countries showed dramatic improvement in the periods studied -- 1997 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2003 -- outpacing the United States, which showed only slight improvement.

White the United States ranked 15th of 19 between 1997-98, by 2002-03 it had fallen to last place.

"It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the US," said Ellen Nolte, lead author of the study.

but number one in making weapons, defense, and torture, sickening, we are better than this.

K&R

don't most of these countries have SOCIALIZED MEDICINE???????

The RW talking point is that socialized medicine doesn't work, that we need a "free market" health care system. These statistics show that to be a lie.

thats all they care about

and now we have to review why we are paying three times as much as the other countries and they have socialized medicine

its time Healthcare be government controlled single payer

Interesting that France came in first place. Interesting in that they don't have single-payer (ie, their universal health care is administered by many (regulated) insurance companies); a system that Hilary's been pilloried for advocatidng.

during the last Republican debate? Giulliani, with a big grin, made some crack about the Canadians needing to go to the U.S.A. for their health care and old blinky, (straight-talking :sarcasm:) McCain said he knew lots of people who had been to Canada and would never want to have their health care! What bullshit. As a Canadian I can tell you, we are not perfect, no system is, but in a recent poll 93% of us said we want to keep our system. In my own family I have had wonderful care...a brother had successful and timely treatment for skin cancer, colon cancer and has had leukemia in remission for several years. All of this cost my family zero dollars! Nobody in this country has had to use their life savings or mortgage their homes to pay for health care. You people in the U.S.A deserve what the rest of the civilized democracies provide for their citizens too!:hi:

What accounts for such disparity when France and the UK both have national healthcare systems?

What is France doing right that the UK is doing wrong?

Well, possibly not trying to 'manage' the health service like a factory (imagine NCLB applied to health!)?

And it might help that they didn't have Maggie Thatcher for 11 years!

Pre-Thatcher, the UK used to be near the top of health lists (e.g. in 1960 it had the third-best infant mortality rates in the world).

*shudder*

:rofl:

I can't wait! :bounce: