But, We Have the Best Care in the World……

We are the only rich nation without some sort of universal health care. Yet, some argue that this is good, that it is the reason we “have the best care in the world.” But the facts argue otherwise: Our present system is the most expensive in the world, but all this money does not ensure first-rate care.

We are at the top when measuring certain cancer treatments and the care in emergency rooms, but we are not quite so good in the areas of managing chronic disease. The eldest and youngest among us are less likely to receive needed vaccinations, and we are at a much higher risk of being killed by medical errors. Nearly nine million American children live in families without health coverage, and more than half of those didn’t have a checkup last year. By almost any indicator, we lag the rest of the western world.