The Commonwealth Fund released its annual worldwide health care report card, and at first blush, it's a pretty damning assessment. But you don't need me to tell you that the devil's in the details.
But first things first: The United States ranks dead last in health care quality, delivery and efficiency despite spending more per capita than anyone else.
(And, yeah, I had a U.S. World Cup joke ready here, but Landon Donovan nailed that goal in overtime right after I finished writing this. Reminds me of my college roommate, who always insisted, "I'd rather be lucky than good.")
But I digress. So, as usual, the United States gets hammered for the amount of money we spend on health care, more than double than anyone else, at $7,290 per capita and how "little" we get in return. And by little, one can only deduce the study's authors refer to our lack of universal health care.
The Netherlands, by contrast, besides fielding another questionable futbol squad, ranks first in the study. Never mind that we're talking about a country smaller than West Virginia. How's that a fair comparison? Sure, it's easy to hand out health care like candy if your population is less than a 10th of ours and your tax bracket's double.
Let's not forget that we also lead the world in obesity rates, among a host of other unhealthy lifestyle choices. And what's with the six other countries we're compared to here? Haven't seen this much selective sampling since the last time I watched the Jon Stewart Show.
So expect to see this report earning a lot of headlines in the morning papers and talking head admonitions on the news shows, but don't let it get to you. Sure, read the study, but gather all the facts before the phones start ringing.
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