Republican Style Bloated Inefficient For Profit Health Care Is The Thrid
Leading Cause Of American Deaths

More proof that right wingers are nothing but assholes who are in the pocket
of big business.  Looks like they're not sucking enough cock.

America's Healthcare System is the Third Leading Cause of Death

This Journal of the American Medical Association article illuminates the
failure of the U.S. medical system in providing decent medical care for
Americans.

In spite of the rising health care costs that provide the illusion of
improving health care, the American people do not enjoy good health, compared
with their counterparts in the industrialized nations.  Among thirteen
countries including Japan, Sweden, France and Canada, the U.S. was ranked
12th, based on the measurement of 16 health indicators such as life
expectancy, low-birth-weight averages and infant mortality.  In another
comparison reported by the World Health Organization that used a different
set of health indicators, the U.S. also fared poorly with a ranking of 15
among 25 industrialized nations.

Although many people attribute poor health to the bad habits of the American
public, Starfield (2000) points out that the Americans do not lead an
unhealthy lifestyle compared to their counterparts.  For example, only 28
percent of the male population in the U.S. smoked, thus making it the third
best nation in the category of smoking among the 13 industrialized nations.  
The U.S. population also achieved a high ranking (5th best) for alcohol
consumption.  In the category of men aged 50 to 70 years, the U.S. had the
third lowest mean cholesterol concentrations among 13 industrialized nations.
Therefore, the perception that the American public s poor health is a result
of their negative health habits is false.

Even more significantly, the medical system has played a large role in
undermining the health of Americans.  According to several research studies
in the last decade, a total of 225,000 Americans per year have died as a
result of their medical treatments:    
                12,000 deaths per year due to unnecessary surgery

7000 deaths per year due to medication errors in hospitals

20,000 deaths per year due to other errors in hospitals

80,000 deaths per year due to infections in hospitals

106,000 deaths per year due to negative effects of drugs

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"A dead rightist tells no lies"
- Ted Nugent