Ayock,...totally agree. this country is sooooo far behind regarding what progresses every citizen equally for healthcare coverage.
but,...until 'we the people' get really, really pissed off everything will stay the same...nothing will change.
the system is most definitely part of the blight,...but 'we the people' have their heads stuck in their smartphomes dumbing them down even more.
more data,...
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first,...here is the country that spends less than the US and their citizens get more,...
10. Canada
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,351
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 10.2%
> Obesity rate: 25.8%
> Life expectancy: 81.5
Canada’s annual health expenditure of $4,351 per capita is the 10th highest in the world. As a share of GDP, health care spending has increased steadily over the past several decades from 6.6% of total GDP in 1980 to 10.2% of GDP in 2013. This compares to an OECD average spending share of 8.9% of GDP. Increased spending in Canada has come with improved health outcomes.Average life expectancy in Canada went from 73 years in 1970 to nearly 82 years in 2013. This was not an especially large improvement compared to many other countries. However, like other wealthy countries, life expectancy in Canada has been among the highest for some time.
Canada is one of a majority of OECD countries with a universal health care system. Universal insurance coverage often increases accessibility to preventative care. As a result, Canadian citizens consult a physician roughly eight times annually on average, a higher consultation rate than in all but nine other countries. Frequent doctor visits may play a role in Canadians’ perception of their own health. Though the measure is somewhat subjective, about 89% of the country’s adults consider themselves to be in good or very good health, a higher share than anywhere else in the world except for New Zealand.
These are the countries spending the most on health.
1. United States
> Health expenditure per capita: $8,713
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 16.4%
> Obesity rate: 35.3%
> Life expectancy: 78.8
While higher health care spending generally leads to better health outcomes, this is famously not the case in the United States. The country, which is one of the world's wealthiest, spends by far the most on health care. The United States spends around $8,700 per capita each year on health care, more than double the OECD average and well more than second place Switzerland.
Despite the high spending, Americans are not anywhere near the world's healthiest. More than 35% of Americans are obese, one of the highest rate in the world, and exceptionally high compared with other countries spending the most on health. The United States is also the only top 10 country for health spending where the life expectancy does not exceed 80 years. Also, perhaps as a consequence of poor economic and social factors as well as the inefficient spending, adverse health outcomes such as infant mortality have increased in the United States. While in 2000, the incidence of infant mortality in the United States was lower than the OECD average, today it is higher.
2. Switzerland
> Health expenditure per capita: $6,325
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 11.1%
> Obesity rate: 10.3%
> Life expectancy: 82.9
With universal health care for every citizen, Switzerland spends more on health care per capita than every country except for the United States. Higher spending in Switzerland is accompanied by better health outcomes. The national obesity rate of 10.3% is one of the lowest worldwide. A relatively low obesity rate likely contributes to the Swiss' perception of their own health. Nearly 81% of Swiss adults report being in good or very good health, a higher share than in all but six of the countries reviewed.
With more than 17 nurses for every 1,000 citizens, no country in the world is home to a larger concentration of practicing nurses than Switzerland. Switzerland also has a relatively high doctor to patient ratio with about four practicing doctors for every 1,000 residents. With a low obesity rate and plenty of health care providers, people in Switzerland can expect to live to be about 83, a higher life expectancy than in all but two of the 43 countries examined by the OECD.
3. Norway
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,862
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 8.9%
> Obesity rate: 10.0%
> Life expectancy: 81.8
As in a number of other European nations, health care is universal in Norway. Through an agreement with the European Union (EU), all EU citizens are covered by the system, and undocumented immigrants are permitted free emergency treatment only. Due largely to Norway's centralized medical system, $4,981 of the $5,862 total per capita annual health spending comes from public sources — the highest public contribution of all OECD nations. The high health care spending in Norway means more health practitioners. There are approximately four doctors and 17 nurses per 1,000 Norwegians, the fourth and second highest concentrations among countries reviewed.
As in other prosperous nations, Norway has a relatively high incidence of cancer at 318 cases per 100,000 people each year. However, this is largely due to the long life expectancy. Norway has one of the longest life expectancies in the world, at 81.8 years. Despite the high incidence, Norwegian cancer patients have relatively high survival rates.
4. Netherlands
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,131
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 11.1%
> Obesity rate: 11.1%
> Life expectancy: 81.4
Residents of the Netherlands, except for conscientious objectors and members of the military, are required to purchase health care by a government mandate implemented in 2006. Only around 1% of country residents do not have insurance. The country's health care expenditure, which at $5,131 per capita trails only three other OECD nations, amounts to 11.1% of GDP, the second largest share after the United States. While residents are required to purchase health insurance, the cost is mostly covered by the government. Out-of-pocket expenses account for just 5.2% of the overall cost, the lowest such share among countries reviewed by the OECD.
Like most other prosperous nations spending the most on health care, people in the Netherlands — even the elderly — have a relatively positive perception of their own health. Nearly 60% of country residents 65 and over believe they are in good health, considerably higher than the OECD average proportion of 43.4%.
5. Sweden
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,904
> Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 11.0%
> Obesity rate: 11.7%
> Life expectancy: 82.0
OECD nations spend an average of $3,453 per capita on health care annually. Sweden spends roughly $1,500 more than the average, the fifth largest sum among OECD nations. In 1970, Swedish citizens had a life expectancy of about 75 years, longer than citizens of any other country at that time. Although life expectancy in the Scandinavian country has increased since then to 82 years, Sweden now has only the ninth longest life expectancy as life expectancy globally has been on the rise over the past several decades.
Despite universal health insurance coverage, Swedes visit the doctor relatively infrequently. With an average of 2.9 physician consultations per person per year, people in Sweden see a doctor less often than people in most other countries reviewed. More than 81% of Swedish citizens report being in good or very good health, a larger share than in all but five nations examined by the OECD. This may partially explain the infrequent doctor visits in Sweden.
