Hi All. Burn the Ships just about said it all. He/she substantiates my point. I would add: What about the believability of the reports? Do you honestly believe that Cuba's reporting on infant mortality is to be believed? Would a woman prefer to give birth to a child in Cuba or the US? Do you really believe that Costa Rica has a better health care system than the US? I maintain that overall the US health care system is probably the best in the world, certainly among the top five. This is not to say that it does not need improvement. We can do much better. But the greatest improvement in our health statistics would come from a change in people's life styles.
As for access to health care, we need to make it much more accessible. People who have health insurance should not be dropped because they lose or change jobs, or develop health problems. Low income families and individuals should be subsidised or have access to government run clinics. (Many states already have these in place). As with auto insurance, there should be high risk pools for those with pre-existing conditions. But the fact is, there are people who can afford to pay for health insurance, but choose not to purchase it. They may have never had any serious medical issue. The government could actually give people, lets say $500 a month toward health insurance and many of them would not purchase it. They would use the money for something else. But let these people get sick and they would expect medical care.
Joe