Monday, November 24, 2008
Even with all of the Obama administration's upcoming emphasis on the economy, the nation's health care is sure to get a lot of attention in the coming years. With nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, and facing epidemics of obesity--and all the fun stuff that comes with it (heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc.)--HIV/AIDS, autism and a host of other health problems (not to mention a rapidly aging population), you're bound to start seeing a lot of news on the subject. As always, the facts will allow you to separate marketing/lobbying spin from reality. Along those lines, The Wall Street Journal health blog featured "Five Health Myths Busted" on their site today.
America has the best health care in the world.
A straw man if there ever was one. Even casual readers of this blog probably know that the U.S. spends the most per capita on health yet gets middling health marks on measures ranging from infant mortality to life expectancy. So we need to do something.
The other four "myths" are: Somebody else is paying for your health insurance; we would save a lot if we could cut the administrative waste of private insurance; health-care reform is going to cost a bundle; and Americans aren't ready for a major overhaul of the health-care system. You might not agree, but it's sure to get you thinking and talking.
Read the whole entry here