Source: Associated Press

Lack of insurance, obesity, racial disparities to blame, experts say
WASHINGTON - Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries.

For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.

Countries that surpass the U.S. include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands.

“Something’s wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.........

Forty countries, including Cuba, Taiwan and most of Europe had lower infant mortality rates than the U.S. in 2004. The U.S. rate was 6.8 deaths for every 1,000 live births. It was 13.7 for Black Americans, the same as Saudi Arabia.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20228552/

That is right next to USA 37! which is where we rank on healthcare.

When will the yahoos wake up and figure out that they have been had? When will they understand that that evil clown Reagan sold them a bill of goods that they have been paying and re-paying for decades and getting less and less each year in return, while the elites get ever wealthier and more powerful?

We've had too many decades of pinheads screaming "socialism!" at anyone who has tried even incremental fixes.

When is this country going to develop the courage to let those pinheads scream while it expands Medicare into national health insurance?

I'm about ready to say "never." I'm getting disgusted enough to leave.

I think that all of the worrying about problems that should have been solved long ago is one of the main things that kill people before their time.

that is what it is all about, anyway.

Here's an article from 2006 on UnitedHealth's Options Scandal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101701467.html

Part of that stress is knowing a medical problem could impoverish you. We spend the most on health care, but we don't get the most. "Overpriced" is a key word.

.... and being able to pay the bills, provide for yourself and your family, etc., can have major health repercussions. The area of research is called "the social determinants of health".


http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/overview_implications/01_overview.html


If you are stressed about your job (being treated unfairly, harassed, etc.) -- or worried about losing your house -- or dreading what might happen if you or someone in your household is hit with major medical bills -- this can be in the same league as smoking, or eating fatty/salty foods. The flip side is that less disparity between the safety nets available to rich and poor people, the reassurance that you will be covered if some health emergency unexpectedly strikes, and the feeling of greater control over your job and economic future, can result in better health -- even if your income is not particularly high.


"A wealth of evidence from Canada and other countries supports the notion that the socioeconomic circumstances of individuals and groups are equally or more important to health status than medical care and personal health behaviours, such as smoking and eating patterns (Evans et al., 1994; Frank, 1995; Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health, 1999). The weight of the evidence suggests that the SDOH have a direct impact on the health of individuals and populations, are the best predictors of individual and population health, structure lifestyle choices, and interact with each other to produce health (Raphael, 2003). In terms of the health of populations, it is well known that disparities-the size of the gap or inequality in social and economic status between groups within a given population-greatly affect the health status of the whole. The larger the gap, the lower the health status of the overall population (Wilkinson, 1996; Wilkinson and Marmot, 1998)."

...that the RWMSM keeps pushing that "...spend(ing) the most on health care..." has anything to do with GOOD Heath care!

All it indicates is that

we spend too much on health care which costs too much!!! :banghead:

between 41 and 43. Get it?

Just Kidding (but I bet someone at Fox "news" tries to spin it that way).

our education and health care while, all the time, consuming the cheap, subsized, fattening and paralyzing drug/foods and bug our doctors for stress relieving, sleep-inducing medicine.

Did I mention our service sucks?

Urrrrrk....

America is quite pathetic in health care and pay more than anybody for horrible care

Source: Associated Press




US slipping in life expectancy rankings
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer | August 12, 2007


WASHINGTON --Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries.

For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.

Countries that surpass the U.S. include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands.

"Something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries," said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/08/12/us_slipping_in_life_expectancy_rankings/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x300568

:)

Everyone knows we have the BEST medical system in the entire WORLD.




:sarcasm:

to get killed off at 18-25yo that would make our life expectancy a little lower wouldn't it.

How many have to choose between a box of kraft mac n' cheese and an oscar myer hot dog and perhaps a small container of applesauce (which is not even apple sauce, but reconstituted apples and high-fructose corn syrup) over free-range chicken, greens and homemade bread with a glass of organic milk. Its about quality of life. Its about having the right foods, exercise, and abiltiy to relax and enjoy family, friends and community. Its all tied together. GMO foods, crap from China, Walmart way of life...It leads to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. These are some of the reasons. Then our medical care system is geared to thinking a disease is cured by a drug made at the pharmacy only... when half the problems could be cured with a nutritionally balance diet, exercise, laughter, and some good ole' sunshine on a delectable afternoon in the park.

There's a lot of talk about revolution... its scary to do when we have so much to loose as far as easy access to foods and water and infrastructure. And if you don't work, how do you pay for these things? Less people live on farms or even bother with their own garden. I think its that fear that keeps people tied to the computer and cell phones wishing for change, but afraid of the possibility of real starvation and lack of cleanliness and lack of family ties (now that everyone is so spread out). Its not like we are asking the farmers to drop their pitch forks and pick up a gun (and half of those guys are already in Iraq). We are asking city-dependent people to become independent all of a sudden.. and we know it doesn't work.. New Orleans couldn't do it without ifrastructure, how is every major city supposed to do it? All Bushie or any govt official would have to do is cut the power and stop mass transportation, and guess what... revolution is over. No one has figured out how to revolt in a society where so many are dependent on other people's for their existence.

When someone figures that out, then you will have everyone behind you. Until then, I'll be working my endless houred job and scrimping and saving so I can shop at my natural store and get a small house with a peice of land so I can start my own garden and herbs and stock up canning on the extra.... When I have it all in about a year or so, you all are welcome to stop by.. but it will take me that long just to grow the garden.

TV has a lot to do with this. TV is electronic heroin, and during the time in front of the boob tube people are bombarded with TV ads pushing these excesses.

Before TV, what did people do more of for entertainment? They would get together and talk, sing songs, play music, laugh, dance, live their own life, instead of having a vicarious experience of fictional peoples' lives.

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

:shrug:

we surely will also be #43 in health care as he leaves office. What a legacy!:hurts:

Besides, we've got so much farther to fall, sadly. There is still a great deal left for the Royal Bushies to sell off, steal, privatize, or otherwise convert to cash.

One thing the War Against the American People that the Bushies have waged has shown me just how strong and wealthy the old post World War II Old American Republic was.

It has taken them so long to steal and dismantle it, and they are still only about halfway finished.

America is the largest, most destructive consumer of natural resources on the planet. The "American lifestyle" will be the death of us all. Since there seems to be no political will to change, perhaps it's not such a bad thing that our country experiences a higher mortality rate than more progressive societies.