The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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October 25, 2009

Your View: U.S. health care is not the world's best

John Bipes, Mankato

After a very misleading bold-print headline and first paragraph, Peter Etzell makes several appreciated suggestions for health care reform, in the Thursday, Oct. 22, edition of The Free Press.

Reforms to address the problems of un- and under-insured and “to assist the poor among us regardless of their origin” were heartening. Thanks to Peter for writing that so compassionately and courageously.

Also, though directly accountable dollar costs for medical liability are only around 1 or 2 cents of our total health-care dollar, reliable sources hint that excessive medical diagnostics (defensive medicine) may be running that figure several percentage points higher.

Streamlined/online electronic records, where they are used — and when they’re standardized throughout the United States — seem to be hugely beneficial. (For example, ISJ-Mayo and Mankato Clinic and V.A. hospitals and clinics as championed by Congressman Tim Walz.)

But “...the finest health care system in the world — ours” is woefully errant.

According to World Health Organization data, the United States ranks 37th in preventable deaths, 24th in healthy life expectancy and somewhere around 40th in infant mortality! Where the United States ranks near the top (second place) is in cost as a percentage of GDP. As a nation we spend about one-third to one-half again as much as other countries and get far poorer outcomes.

Where U.S. pride seems to be impeding health-care improvement is our unwillingness to accurately report and take hints from our many international neighbors with much better outcomes.

Public policy should be predicated upon outcome-based statistical data, not on an “it works for me” mentality or “the best health care money can buy” reality.



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