Comparing Health Care

Hello Bloggers,
Have you ever went to the doctor’s office and had to wait for hours although you had a “scheduled appointment”? Or, have you ever been charged a ridiculous amount of money for a basic procedure such as, a check-up? The United States has one of the worst health care policies when compared to other wealthy nations. Not surprisingly, it is due to the lack of a public run health care program. This blog will compare the United States current health care policy with that of other countries.
In recent studies done about health care, the United States ranked last among other nations who have public health care options. This study was based on access to health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, efficiency and equity. In the study conducted Britain ranked top followed by Germany. Britain’s health care policy is ran and funded by the government. Tax dollars are used to pay for doctor visits. All appointments and treatments are free to the patient (although paid with taxpayer’s money), as are most prescription drugs. The maximum cost of drugs in Britain averages around $12. The NHS (Britain’s health care program) came into effect in 1948, following World War II. The citizens of Britain have a higher life expectancy and a lower infant mortality rate than the United States. Britain accomplishes this all while spending relatively less on health care than the United States. On average Britain spends $2,500 per person on health, while the United States spends about $6,000 per person. The U.S outperforms Britain in some aspects, though. The United States has a lower cancer-mortality rate than Britain.
With these statistics, why should we question switching to a government-ran health care program? I believe the benefits of public health care outweigh the risks.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1916570,00.html
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/15/1198