Do we have any hope for healthcare reform?

We know that American medical care is the most expensive in the world. We would like to think that being the most expensive, it is also of the highest quality. Yet year after year we look at the reports and articles that compare quality of care in the US and other industrialized nations and realize: it is simply not the case.

Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group in New York, reported:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/business/17health.html?fta=y

1. United States spends more than twice as much on each person for health care as most other industrialized countries.

2. Yet, US is on the last place among those countries in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care.

3. Access to care in the United States has worsened since 2006. More people,75 million,lack adequate health insurance or are uninsured. The central finding of the report - access has deteriorated.

4. Assessment of the United States on 37 health care measures finds little improvement since 2006. Bottom line: the cost of health care continues to rise, more people — even those with insurance — struggle to pay their medical bills.

5. United States ranks last in preventable mortality, just below Ireland and Portugal. The leader by that measure is France, followed by Japan and Australia.

6. Other countries worked hard to improve.Britain, for example, focused on improving the performance of individual hospitals that had been the least successful in treating heart disease. Making top-quality care a government priority led to success in Britain.

7. Business leaders also see a need for health care changes. They agree that it’s been as bad as they have been thinking it is.

8. Inefficiencies of the American health care system: the administrative costs of the medical insurance system consume much more of the current health care dollar, about 7.5 percent, than in other countries. In comparison, administrative costs are at the level of 5 percent or so in Germany and Switzerland, where private insurers also play a significant role.

9. A lot of the waste in the US system is the antiquity of the information technology and the burdensome regulatory and compliance costs of doing business in 50 states. A more uniform system could result in savings.

Conclusion? US healthcare needs a change! (That word again!) With a bankrupt financial system and national debt approaching 10.5 trillion, it is doubtful that there is hope for a reasonably quick solution.

Until then, medical tourism in Europe may be the most viable choice for many of us in need of necessary treatments. Difference in price is remarkable. Vacation is spectacular. Difference in quality? Read the post again.

Any thoughts?
Slavmed.com