The Enemy is Us

[JMO Fan]

Life Expectancy Humbug Marie-Josee Kravis, 09.21.09

The U.S. spends much more on health care services as a percentage of GDP than other developed countries, and yet in life expectancy it lags ....

Life expectancy ... reflects ... diet and lifestyle. A raw match of life expectancy against health care spending is naive.
...
Take road fatalities: The U.S. holds the unenviable record of one of the highest rates in the developed world. ... Would universal health care shorten commutes or stop speeding? ... Can anyone credibly argue that health care reform will lower the homicide rate?
...
Costs attributable to obesity account for almost 10% of health care spending in the U.S. In Canada the corresponding figure is from 2% to 3.5%.
... Will health care reform cut portion sizes? A more pertinent question: Will obesity be classified as a preexisting condition preventing insurance companies from providing incentives for healthier life choices?

Smoking, drugs and alcohol are other lifestyle choices that can lower life expectancy ....

Oncology found that Americans have a higher survival rate for 13 of the 16 most common forms of cancer.
This leaves the argument that infant mortality rates in the U.S. are higher .... But the U.S. has a much more diverse population than other developed countries, and infant mortality rate is decidedly a function of the mother's choices (notably, age, marital status and drug use). Teen pregnancy rates are higher, and pregnant women in the U.S. are more likely to be living alone than in other countries. These facts ... remind us that complex socioeconomic problems will not be resolved solely by changes in the health care system.

Marie-Josée Kravis is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Forbes.com - Magazine Article

In the old cartoon, Pogo had an appropriate motto: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!"

 

[Winter_123]

Forbes.com - Magazine Article

In the old cartoon, Pogo had an appropriate motto: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!"

Depends on one's perspective. For those of us who are not obese or smokers etc. the problem is "them" not "us" but the government forces "us" to pay for "them" Well, the government does in my state anyway and it is coming to your state soon.

 

[somarco]

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