Paying more for inferior health care
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| Thu, 03-12-2009 - 1:04pm |
High U.S. cost a liability, CEOs say
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/403216_healthgap12.html
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- If the global economy were a 100-yard dash, the U.S. would start 23 yards behind its closest competitors because of health care that costs too much and delivers too little, a business group says in a report to be released Thursday.
The report from the Business Roundtable, which represents the chief executive officers of major companies, says America's health care system has become a liability in a global economy.
Concern about high U.S. costs has existed for years, and business executives -- whose companies provide health coverage for workers -- have long called for getting costs under control. Now President Barack Obama says the costs have become unsustainable and the system must be overhauled.
Americans spend $2.4 trillion a year on health care. The Business Roundtable report says Americans in 2006 spent $1,928 per capita on health care, at least 2 1/2 times more per person than any other advanced country.
In a different twist, the report took those costs and factored benefits into the equation.
It compares statistics on life expectancy, death rates and even cholesterol readings and blood pressures. The health measures are factored together with costs into a 100-point "value" scale. That hasn't been done before, the authors said.
The results are not encouraging.
The United States is 23 points behind five leading economic competitors: Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The five nations cover all their citizens, and though their systems differ, in each country the government plays a much larger role than in the U.S.
The CEOs of the Business Roundtable believe health care for U.S. workers and their families should stay in private hands, with a government-funded safety net for low-income people.
Remainder of article can be found at above link.
me: Which, last time I checked, was along the lines of what the current admin is supporting.
| Thu, 03-12-2009 - 1:39pm |





