Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (28180)	4/28/2008 5:01:11 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Re: "They are very questionable statements." No. Not really. Per-capita average cost means per-capita average cost. Rate of death in childhood means rate of death in childhood. Average birth weight is average birth weight. Percent of population with insurance coverage means percent with coverage. Deaths attributed from errors in prescriptions mean exactly what they sound like. 'Compliance costs' of regulated medical providers in processing hundreds of different insurance forms (vs. the costs when only ONE form of paperwork is allowed) are also mostly quantifiable --- and very easy to understand from a common sense perspective. Etc., etc., etc., etc. One might quibble around the margins of any one of the financial metrics or health care resultant metrics... but when per-capita costs and health care resultants between the US and Taiwan... or between the US and Switzerland... (or US/Germany... even US/Japan, US/France, US/UK, etc.), when the cost/effectiveness differences are so clear and stark and major, it becomes easy to conclude that - although NONE of these systems are ANYWHERE NEAR 'perfect', the US's crappy system is objectively farther from 'optimal' then several of the others. Although, without a doubt, I'm sure we still are far in advance of Zimbabwe's or Burma's... or some other 'third world' nation's concoctions. But, then again, the US should NOT be compared to countries such as that - economically they are far too different from us. No, our peer group of similar 'most developed' industrial wealthy Democracies is the place to start for comparisons.