tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post1466579727498881468..comments2024-01-04T07:21:18.243-05:00Comments on John In Carolina: Stossel on U.S. Health-Care RankingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-22142716028495865102008-11-21T17:48:00.000-05:002008-11-21T17:48:00.000-05:00good to know are health care dosen't suck just are...good to know are health care dosen't suck just are poor transpotation system, lack of understanding in each other, and that we are fat and not so happy. i feel much better now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-46909312061961992822007-08-25T02:00:00.000-04:002007-08-25T02:00:00.000-04:00When you adjust for these "fatal injury" rates, U....<I>When you adjust for these "fatal injury" rates, U.S. life expectancy is actually higher than in nearly every other industrialized nation.</I><BR/><BR/>I posted a comment over at Mankiw's blog on this issue. Stossel is flat-out wrong in this factual claim. If homicides and traffic accidents (the "fatal injuries" Stossel refers to) were zero in the US, there would still be at least 16 countries with life expectancies higher than in the US.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-64142214503156439032007-08-24T15:12:00.000-04:002007-08-24T15:12:00.000-04:00I'm actually taking more home in the UK (about 69%...I'm actually taking more home in the UK (about 69%) than I was in the US (about 65%). Both include healthcare and pension deductions. In the UK it comes through taxes, and in the US it comes through buying an overpriced healthcare plan sponsored by your employer. I was able to see a dentist right away off the NHS in the UK. Costs were much lower. In terms of VAT, yes they're higher, but I'm saving by not having to own a car because public transport is much better. Some things are good, some aren't--I'm not one for blanket statements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-71566414140848226222007-08-24T09:14:00.000-04:002007-08-24T09:14:00.000-04:00Anon - "I pay nothing beyond taxes".Yeah, well, I ...Anon - "I pay nothing beyond taxes".<BR/><BR/>Yeah, well, I have paid taxes in the UK (44% of my paycheck if I recall) and Australia (48.9% of my paycheck). Oh, and runious GST (12.5% in Oz) and other taxes on everything purchased.<BR/><BR/>My total payroll taxes in the US are around 34%. Any my 'regular' purchase taxes are 5% or so. <BR/><BR/>So, in Oz I can pay 49% on my gross and 12.5% on my net and get "Free" healthcare.<BR/><BR/>In the US I can pay 34% on my gross and 5% on my net and buy healthcare.<BR/><BR/>The last time I bought healthcare on the open market (5 years ago) for a family of 5 it cost me 3% of my gross.<BR/><BR/>So, under the American system I can get good healthcare and have more take home and more spend.<BR/><BR/>Hmmmmmm.<BR/><BR/>Also, I will note that the wait for a dentist in Brisbane is 7 years for non-emergency and in Sydney it has recently been "improved" to 4-5 years. Not to make British dental jokes, but how long to get on a regular 6 month preventative dental care regime in the UK these days?<BR/><BR/>_TFAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-77851878003530406112007-08-23T22:31:00.000-04:002007-08-23T22:31:00.000-04:00Having lived both in the US, and UK, I believe I c...Having lived both in the US, and UK, I believe I can attempt to offer a frank assessment of both.<BR/><BR/>I'm in the UK now. For basic care and preventative care, the UK is tops. I pay nothing beyond taxes and get to see a GP immediately. For specialist care, socialized medicine is not very good. Getting to see a specialist varies by region and problem. <BR/><BR/>However, it should be noted that you can buy private health insurance in the UK, something that essentially allows you to jump first into line. Because of socialized medicine (people willing to take the government's program), private healthcare is pretty cheap. One thing I don't miss is the co-payments, the payments before co-payments, etc. Also, if I need emergency care, there will be no 10% co-pay bill that could cost upwards of 25,000 in the US.<BR/><BR/>So there are pros and cons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-67592885399838053662007-08-23T16:15:00.000-04:002007-08-23T16:15:00.000-04:00I suspect a moderately high number of people (1k?...I suspect a moderately high number of people (1k?) leave the US every year to get drugs unavailable in the US.<BR/><BR/>Some of what they go after is Laetrile (remember that?) and some is stuff that *should* be available here but it isn't.<BR/><BR/>Note that these are drugs not on the formulary, not drugs that are unavailable due to money/training issues.<BR/><BR/>I suspect the number of in-migration folks coming after drugs they aren't *allowed* to have in their countries is much higher. Witness the Canadian quints, et. al.<BR/><BR/>We can talk about Medical Tourists and India if you want, but that is a whole 'nother subject.<BR/><BR/>-ACAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-44110554945693562112007-08-23T09:51:00.000-04:002007-08-23T09:51:00.000-04:00Thanks JohnA bit OT, but I wished to point it out....Thanks John<BR/><BR/>A bit OT, but I wished to point it out.<BR/><BR/><I>...When was the last time you heard of someone leaving this country to get medical care?"</I><BR/><BR/><B>Micheal J. Fox</B><BR/><BR/>Of course that results from the slower process in approval of drugs and procedures here, but he did leave this country for treatment of Parkinson's. A slip in the research in the article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-10883991504751808812007-08-23T07:22:00.000-04:002007-08-23T07:22:00.000-04:00UK cancer survival rate lowest in EuropeBy Nicole ...<B>UK cancer survival rate lowest in Europe</B><BR/><BR/>By Nicole Martin<BR/><BR/>Cancer survival rates in Britain are among the lowest in Europe, according to the most comprehensive analysis of the issue yet produced.<BR/><BR/>England is on a par with Poland despite the NHS spending three times more on health care.<BR/><BR/>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/21/ncancer121.xmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-42603864583215744012007-08-23T07:13:00.000-04:002007-08-23T07:13:00.000-04:00Tell me again what's so great about Canadian healt...Tell me again what's so great about Canadian healthcare? A city of 1 million can't handle 4 neos?<BR/><BR/><B>No room at the inn</B><BR/><BR/><I>Don Surber</I><BR/><BR/>The Dionne quintuplets were born on May 28, 1934, to a humble, French-speaking couple in a farmhouse outside of Callander, Ontario, Canada. They were identical sisters and for the first 10 years of their lives, the five girls were the No. 1 tourism attraction in Canada.<BR/><BR/>Then came free health care for all Canadians. Which is why the four identical Jepp sisters were born in Great Falls, Mont., instead of Calgary this weekend. The Canadian parents flew 325 miles to get to an American hospital.<BR/><BR/>[snip]<BR/><BR/>http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2007/08/17/no-room-at-the-inn/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-61852775738038691132007-08-22T20:20:00.000-04:002007-08-22T20:20:00.000-04:00Do I really have to posit that the US healthcare s...Do I really have to posit that the US healthcare system has serious problems? I think that is true only if you can measure a gap between the existing system and a possible system that could exist at the same moment in time if everything worked, somehow, perfectly.<BR/><BR/>So, by that measure, Wal-Mart would have a Supply Chain with serious problems. Uh, huh.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, when was the last time that the UN got their numbers right? Oil-for-food? The peace keeping force required to actually keep the peace in Rwanda?<BR/><BR/>Count me out.<BR/><BR/>-ACAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13073631.post-65328029443334953332007-08-22T20:10:00.000-04:002007-08-22T20:10:00.000-04:00John - Great review of Stossel's article. Two poi...John - Great review of Stossel's article. Two points to note. I do not think the UN report on life expectancy was adjusted for demographics. White populations, as found in Europe, have higher life expectancies than non-white populations. Secondly, the murder rates Stoessel cite for the US relative to UK seems to be out of date. The US rate as of 2003 was only 3.5 times the UK rate, and not 10 times the UK rate. Historically, the relative rates are of an order of magnitude of about 5 times. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2656875.stm.<BR/>Finally, you mention how the MSM media in general and the New York Times in particular have handled the story. It is not wonder they are losing readership. As Abe Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, you can't fool all the people all the time. People are figuring out that what is true is not in the MSM and what is in the MSM is not tru.eAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com