IT'S TIME FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

So now that I offer evidence to the contrary, I am accused of putting up straw men.

okie picks up on one issue, obesity, and thinks that's tha major cause of death in America. There's no cure for stupid.

Deaths-Leading Causes

(Data are for U.S. for year indicated)

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

Heart disease: 654,092

Cancer: 550,270

Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 150,147

Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 123,884

Accidents (unintentional injuries): 108,694

Diabetes: 72,815

Alzheimer's disease: 65,829

Influenza/Pneumonia: 61,472

Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 42,762

Septicemia: 33,464

Source: Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2004, tables 7

old europe wrote:

okie wrote:

there is not that great a difference between number 42 and number 1

5,6 years. Not a lot? Okay.

So you use Andorra, a country of 180 square miles, as a good example, with a life expectancy of 83.5 years, more than 1.3 years better than the closest rival?

Quote:

okie wrote:

I am simply saying that you offend people's intelligence by suggesting that health care is directly proportional to lifespan and therefore the health care in the U.S. is inferior. I do not believe it in a New York minute.

I never said that "health care is directly proportional to lifespan." You know, okie, it would be nice if you could refrain from misrepresenting my position in such an outrageous way. If you need to put up that straw man, your position appears to be pretty weak.

Who is mis-representing here? People have been carrying on this mission to bring universal health care to the U.S., and suggesting our health care is inferior, and one of the common reasons cited is life span. So now that I offer evidence to the contrary, I am accused of putting up straw men. I am simply pointing out that there are many factors involved in life expectancies.

Common sense would suggest that a good universal health care system and a low obesity rate are somewhat related

I am simply saying that you offend people's intelligence by suggesting that health care is directly proportional to lifespan

However, not "directly proportional" does obviously not mean that there is no correlation. All these factors (life expectancy, infant mortality, cancer survival rates, etc. etc.) usually give a pretty good picture about how a specific health care system is doing.

Murray, from the University of Washington, said improved access to health insurance could increase life expectancy. But, he predicted, the U.S. won't move up in the world rankings as long as the health care debate is limited to insurance.

Policymakers also should focus on ways to reduce cancer, heart disease and lung disease, said Murray. He advocates stepped-up efforts to reduce tobacco use, control blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and regulate blood sugar.

"Even if we focused only on those four things, we would go along way toward improving health care in the United States," Murray said. "The starting point is the recognition that the U.S. does not have the best health care system. There are still an awful lot of people who think it does."

If your statements are embarrassing for you when quoted back at you, why do you make them in the first place?

Your inference that obesity is the major cause of all the illnesses in the US is YOUR ignorance. There are things called genes and environment that influence health issues. The more you post, the more you show your ignorance.

The only thing obese is your brain.

old europe wrote:

If your statements are embarrassing for you when quoted back at you, why do you make them in the first place?

I am not embarrassed by any of my statements.

I stand by my opinion that our health care system may be the best in the world, as evidenced by our life expectancy when other lifestyle factors are included. Did I ever say for certain it was the best in the world? I am confident it is one of the best, and further I believe lifestyle is a huge factor, and if given the same lifestyle, I have seen no evidence whatsoever that universal health care would improve life expectancy.

As a point of interest, oe, how do you purport to know how to judge my health care better than I can when you don't even live here? Have you talked to my doctor lately?

And...some of the wait times in Canadian ERs are as long as 5 days.

According to records from participating hospitals, half of all emergency department patients were seen by a physician in 51 minutes or less. However, 10% waited 10 minutes or less, and another 10% waited nearly three hours or more.

The time spent waiting to be seen by a physician in the ED varied in 2005-2006 by the acuity of patients' conditions. Overall, for example, 50% of patients triaged as CTAS I were seen by a physician within 6 minutes and 86% were seen within 30 minutes of arriving at the ED.

Okie is correct about obesity, which is a killer. It is particularly bad in the USA. In my area, people don't know that they are obese because everyone else is obese.

Another factor is the relatively large black population. Blacks have a significantly lower life expectancy, being much more susceptible to a host of diseases. Also, we probably have a much higher rate of violent crime than the other comparatives, which contributes to deaths at an earlier age.