Why? Why is the United States, for Pete's Sake....

Why don't we, such a rich country, cover everyone?
by Charlie Leck

On Eric Black's blog today, he asks the essential question about health care in the U.S.. Why don't we cover everyone?

"As I rediscovered last week, many opponents of universal health care in the U.S. like to say, and applaud anyone else who says, that the United States has the greatest health care system in the world. There is basically no reasonable way to back this statement up with a statistic that measures health outcomes. Americans have shorter life expectancies, infant mortality rates are higher here, and perhaps most relevantly, those who measure the rate of deaths that could have been prevented by medical care show the U.S. system to be below many of the wealthy industrialized nations of the world.

"And, as everyone must know by now, ours is the worst system in the world as measured by cost efficiency."

That's the essential question. Read Black's important blog of today.