had a discussion with some friends about universal health care vs the existing american health care system. individual stories aside (btw i’d like to hear from americans living in inner cities about their encounters with our best-in-the-world health care system – check out a report by the american college of physicians on that subject), here are some stats on the canadian health care system (which is single payer and universal) vs the costly capitalist mess we have here in america:
Life expectancy at birth, total (in Years)
Canada: 81.07, Ranked 17th. 3% more than United States
US: 78.64, Ranked 40th.
Obesity
Canada: 14.3% , Ranked 11th.
US: 30.6%, Ranked 1st. 2 times more than Canada
Life expectancy (Years of potential life LOST from premature death)-Females Canada: 2,554, Ranked 10th.
US: 3,633, Ranked 3rd. 42% more than Canada
Life expectancy (Years of potential life LOST from premature death)-Males Canada: 4,168, Ranked 16th.
US: 6,291, Ranked 5th. 51% more than Canada
Births and maternity (Infant mortality rate)
Canada: 4.7, Ranked 158th.
US: 6, Ranked 151st. 28% more than Canada
Quality of health care system (Skill and competence of medical staff)
Canada: 74.77, Ranked 15th. About the same as United States
US: 74.69, Ranked 16th.
Expenditure per capita (in Current US$)
Canada: 3,037.6$, Ranked 17th.
US: 6,096.2$, Ranked 1st. TWICE as much as Canada
More here.