The US health care system, which depends on private, for-profit health insurance, is not working. It is time for national health insurance!
One would expect that the US, with its well educated population; high standard of living; well trained physicians, nurses, and other health professionals; and well equipped hospitals and diagnostic facilities would provide optimal care to all its citizens.
A further reason why Americans should expect optimal health care is that the US spends much more for health care than any other country. We pay about twice as much as other countries. In 2005, the per capita health care expense was $6401 for Americans, compared to an average of $3114 in 30 industrial nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. And, our health care costs keep escalating faster than the rate of inflation.
We pay more; but we get less for our money! We do not have the world’s best health care. The World Health Organization ranked the US health care system the 37th best of 191 countries, and last among 17 industrialized countries in 2000. Our health outcomes: life expectancy, infant mortality, and immunization rates are well behind other industrialized nations. In a 2000 survey, 60% of our citizens said that they were dissatisfied with their health care.
The major reason that our health outcomes are poor is that more than 46 million Americans have limited access to care because they don’t have health insurance. Millions of others have inadequate access because they have inadequate insurance. A New York Times/CBS poll in 2007 found that 28% of Americans were without health insurance at some time in 2007, and 61% who were uninsured did not obtain needed care.
Even though we spend more on health care than any other country, we are the only industrialized country that does not ensure access to health care to all its citizens.
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— James E. Dalen, MD, MPH, and Joseph S. Alpert, MD
This article was originally published in the July 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
