Truthout Opinion
Sick AmericaMonday 06 July 2009
by: Eric Desrosiers |
Visit article original @ Le Devoir In spite of all the ill spoken about it, the American health care system is even sicker than is generally believed, if only for economic reasons.
The mother of all battles began a few weeks ago in Washington over the question of reform of the American health care system. This battle is not the first; in fact, the first proposals for in-depth change go back to the Truman administration years.
As everyone knows, one of the important reasons for this desire for change derives from the fact that the United States is the only developed country in the world, the whole population of which is not covered by one or another form of health insurance. Close to 50 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, are purely and simply left on their own.
What is less often said is that this incomplete coverage costs Americans dearly. In fact, it's the most expensive coverage of all, not only in absolute value, but also in relation to GDP. In 2005, the United States consecrated 15.3 percent of its GDP to health care, or almost double the average for developed countries. In comparison, that proportion hit 10.5 percent in France, 9.9 percent in Canada, 9.2 percent in Sweden, 8.1 percent in the United Kingdom and 8 percent in Japan. ..........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.truthout.org/070709F
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