In a recent report released by the Commonwealth Fund, researchers determined that the U.S. health care system remains the worst among 19 industrialized countries. The United States failed on most measures of health care quality as the capitalists continue to reap in huge profits.
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U.S. infant mortality also remains high at 7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 2.8 in Japan and 3.1 in Sweden. (MSNBC, July 17)
The most recent figures indicate an average of 110 preventable deaths per 100,000 in the United States compared with 65 in France and 71 in Japan and Australia.
The study assesses 37 different health care indicators including healthy lives, quality, access, efficiency and equity. The U.S. scored an average of only 65 out of a possible 100 for these indicators. The study found little improvement in the United States since the last report, which also ranked the U.S. health care system as last among 19 industrialized countries.
The report emphasizes that the United States has the highest share of national health expenditures spent on insurance administration, with 7.5 percent going to claims administration, underwriting, marketing, profits and other overhead. (MarketWatch, July 17) When the study compared expenditures between countries, the U.S. ranked worst as other countries made considerable improvements.
“We lead the world in spending. We should be expecting much more in return,” Commonwealth Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen told reporters. (Reuters, July 17)
The study also shows that 42 percent of all Americans between 19 and 65—at least 75 million people—were either uninsured or underinsured. (New York Times, July 17) This is up from 35 percent in 2003.
The data gathered indicates that health care varies widely between states, regions, hospitals, and health plans. The difference between the best and worst performers can be as much as fivefold.
Enough is enough. Access to free, universal health care should be a guaranteed right for working class people in the United States and throughout the world. The laws of profit-seeking demand that health insurance companies charge as much as they possibly can while providing the least amount of care.
As long as the criminal profiteers who sit atop those corporations are in charge, free access to quality health care cannot be attained. The La Riva/ Puryear presidential campaign believes that private health insurance profiteers must be dismantled and pharmaceutical corporations expropriated—a solution that neither of the two capitalist party candidates would ever back out of their own accord without a fierce struggle waged by the people.
To find out more about the La Riva/Puryear campaign, click here. To find out more about other PSL candidates running in local and national elections, click here.
