Re: Are Americans twice as sick as people in other developed nations?

Well Michael, that is a very interesting question. Let me start out by saying that politicians often choose to use facts in simplistic ways to help to get support for their own ideas. I believe this is the case with the statement you have indicated came from Congressman Miller and Senator Daschle.

Let us think about it in steps:

1. Health care costs averaged per person in the USA are higher than other developed countries - that is a fact and you can find that information on the web (for instance: http://www.kff.org/insurance/s napshot/chcm010307oth.cfm)

Of course, the reasons that one country spends more per person than another is very complex - it is a results of many things, such as the efficiency of the system, the cost of wages and drugs, the amount of prevention programs, and the demand for care, and many many others.

2. So, are Americans twice as sick as people in these other countries? Well, that question might be even more complicated! How do you define "sick". Does that mean: the number of times the average person sees a doctor, the number of times someone is in the hospital, does it mean the number of people that have heart attacks per year, the number of people with mental illness, how many accidents happen, how many people abuse drugs, etc. etc. This list could go on and on almost for ever. The point is that "sickness" or "health" are difficult to define.

3. So, putting those two points together - how to determine what makes healthcare more expensive in the USA and whether your citizens are more sick - you can see what an impossible mission it might be to find out whether the Congressmen's statement could be true. My opinion is that the Congressmen selectively picked data and statistics that helped to support their "statement". Anyone else could select different data or statistics, and perhaps determine the higher costs are due to the use of more very expensive drugs to treat cancer in the USA.

Hope this helps.