Single Payer Healthcare - Effect on Medical Industry

[XenaLives]

Maternal healthcare in the U.S. is a FAIL.
- (repost because of error in the replied to post)



The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. if 50% higher than Libya. The U.S. and China are about the same.

But it is going DOWN in China:

In 2014, the maternal mortality rate was 21.7 per 100,000 which was 76 per cent lower than in 1990

http://www.wpro.who.int/china/mediacentre/releases/2015/20151026/en/

BEIJING - China's maternal mortality rate contracted to 19.6 per 100,000 in 2017 from 19.9 per 100,000 the previous year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said Thursday.

Moreover, the rate of infant mortality also dropped last year from 7.5 per thousand to 6.8, narrowing the gap between China and the developed world.

Attributing the achievements to the maternal risk screening and treatment system, the commission called for improved maternal and child health care services by allocating more resources to the grassroots level.

There should be at least one public maternal and child health care institution in each county by 2020, said the commission.

China plans to further reduce the maternal mortality rate to 12 per 100,000 and the infant mortality rate to five per thousand by 2030, according to an official guideline titled Healthy China 2030.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201802/01/WS5a731de1a3106e7dcc13a43b.html

CONCLUSION: Despite the United Nations Millennium Development Goal for a 75% reduction in maternal mortality by 2015, the estimated maternal mortality rate for 48 states and Washington, DC, increased from 2000 to 2014; the international trend was in the opposite direction.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27500333

Although considered mainly as problems of the developing world, maternal mortality and morbidity remain a challenge in the United States of America (USA).1 Between 1990 and 2013, the maternal mortality ratio for the USA more than doubled from an estimated 12 to 28 maternal deaths per 100 000 births1 and the country has now a higher ratio than those reported for most high-income countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Libya and Turkey.2 About half of all maternal deaths in the USA are preventable.2

Each year an estimated 12001 women in the USA suffer complications during pregnancy or childbirth that prove fatal and 60 0003 suffer complications that are near-fatal – even though costs of maternity care in the USA in 2012 exceeded 60 billion United States dollars.4

Three factors are probably contributing to the upward trend in maternal mortality and morbidity in the USA. First, there is inconsistent obstetric practice. Hospitals across the USA lack a standard approach to managing obstetric emergencies and the complications of pregnancy and childbirth are often identified too late. Nationally endorsed plans to manage obstetric emergencies and updated training and guidance on implementing these plans is a serious and ongoing need.5

A second factor is the increasing number of women who present at antenatal clinics with chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, which contribute to pregnancy-related complications. Many of these women could benefit from the closer coordination of antenatal and primary care – including case management and other community-based services that help them access care and overcome cost and other obstacles. In the USA, women who lack health insurance are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than their insured counterparts.6

Another factor is the general lack of good data – and related analysis – on maternal health outcomes. Only half the USA’s states have maternal mortality review boards and the data that are collected are not systematically used to guide changes that could reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. There is no national forum for the states to share either their best practices for reviewing maternal deaths or the relevant lessons that they may have learned.

There is a growing effort by physicians, nurses and community organizations to address these three factors. Hospitals are beginning to implement standard approaches to managing obstetric emergencies so that, wherever a woman gives birth, she receives appropriate evidence-based care. Community initiatives are coordinating care for high-risk women to ensure good health and management of chronic conditions during and beyond pregnancy. More states are establishing or strengthening maternal mortality review boards.

Recent changes to national policies should also help improve maternal health outcomes. In 2010 the Affordable Care Act included antenatal and maternal care as essential health benefits that insurance plans must cover. By extending insurance coverage to pregnant women with low incomes, many states have lowered the economic hurdles that limit access to antenatal care for millions of women. As the health community solidifies the post-2015 agenda to end preventable maternal mortality, the USA needs to be brought into the global dialogue on maternal health. Although maternal mortality is relatively rare in the USA, one preventable maternal death is one too many. All states need to mobilize health providers, policy-makers and communities to make maternal health a priority. With increased awareness of maternal mortality and life-threatening events – and concrete actions to ensure that pregnant women get the quality care they need – many fatal and near-fatal complications could be prevented.

https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/93/3/14-148627/en/

On that March day, she joined one of the US’s most shameful statistics. With an estimated 26.4 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2015, America has the highest maternal mortality rate of all industrialized countries—by several times over. In Canada, the rate is 7.3; in Western Europe, the average is 7.2, with many countries including Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Austria showing rates around 4. More women die of childbirth-related causes in the US than they do in Iran (20.8), Lebanon (15.3), Turkey (15.8), Puerto Rico (15.1), China (17.7), and many more.

https://qz.com/1108193/whats-killing-americas-new-mothers/

Ethinic based stats available here:
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/maternal_mortality/state/ALL