>> When you look at the factors you do list...
I haven't done a regression analysis, so I haven't any idea which factors return the highest coefficients. I was just citing a few of the examples you would have to consider as important candidates and trying to point out that the healthcare system is not the major determinant here.
There are places where life expectancy is longer but healthcare is worse. And places where life expectancy is shorter but healthcare is better. It isn't to say there is zero correlation, but other factors weigh heavily.
A major factor in some parts of the world is the incidence of AIDS, since life expectancy is a simple mean. Certainly, if you have a disease like AIDS the United States is where you'd want to be.
This is a big subject. "Best Healthcare" is a term that is, at best, illusive, even when qualified with terms like "indigent" or "prenatal". But the United States is obviously one of only a few places in the world you want to be if you're sick and indigent.
Let me give you an example. Last weekend, a friend of my daughters', who is an UNINSURED 24-year old female (who makes 17,000/year), suffered a horrible headache and vomiting after jogging for a few minutes. This woman had, last year, spent a week in a hospital at a cost of $12,000 after suffering from TSS. None of that debt has been paid.
Last week she spent the night in the hospital under the care of a neurosurgeon, received a CT of the head and a spinal tap, and was ultimately released with a referral to an appropriate physician. This is a woman who could afford insurance ($50/month or less), but has chosen not to because she has other priorities. For her hospital stay, which will run into the thousands of dollars (at least 5K), she paid not one nickel. Sure, she owes the money, but she received the healthcare she needs.
This is typical. She has behaved irresponsibly by not allocating some of her money for a major medical policy, and now has to pay for it. But nobody allowed her to go without needed healthcare. |
