Finally, a link to the report.
And a fascinating report it is! The US is 37th. because - as the 3rd. to last paragraph identifies - we evidently aren't fair in how we pay for healthcare. Of course, there is no objective parameter for what constitutes fairness.....only that, if all aren't treated exactly the same, it ain't fair.
Damn. And here I thought we were expected to make our own way in the world. You mean somebody
else is responsible for me??? No wonder Obama got elected...I'm so out of touch with reality.
"
In North America, Canada rates as the country with the fairest mechanism for health system finance – ranked at 17-19, while the United States is at 54-55. Cuba is the highest among Latin American and Caribbean nations at 23-25."
Hey, Canadians amongst us - how you feel about this? I'm not sure we need to ask the Cubans, as they've been mighty vocal about things there for a looong time.
But then again, we are pretty good at those things that make the quality of life pleasurable - "
Responsiveness: Responsiveness includes two major components. These are (a) respect for persons (including dignity, confidentiality and autonomy of individuals and families to decide about their own health); and (b) client orientation (including prompt attention, access to social support networks during care, quality of basic amenities and choice of provider).", conditions that are apparently kinda easy to identify.
Huh. This, in reference to an earlier paragraph "
Responsiveness: The nations with the most responsive health systems are the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Canada, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden....." Odd that we don't find France in here, isn't it?
Too much cut-and-paste here for me. And I need to find their objective ratings for Overall Level Of Health, which I would think to be a major factor in a report of this kind, and see where the US ranks in that category.
I'm off. See you later with what I find.