More Health Care

One of the primary arguments against a public insurance option in the current healthcare debate is that this is a form of Socialized Medicine, and Socialized Medicine is bad. Such statements are usually followed up with anecdotes about how messed up healthcare is in England or Canada or France, because people have to wait for service (which, of course, we do in the US), and the technology lags.

The funny thing of it is, as bad as the healthcare systems are in these countries, people still live longer than they do in the US.

I've included Switzerland in the comparison below because, as Paul Krugman points out, the "Public Option" plan favored by many Democrats most closely resembles the Swiss system. And Cuba, because we all know that everything sucks in Commie Cuba.

Average life expectancy in 2007, per the World Health Organization:
Switzerland 82
Canada 81
France 81
England 80
Cuba 78
USA 78


Infant mortality rate in 2007, same source:
France 3 deaths per 1,000 live births
Switzerland 4
Canada 5
England 5
Cuba 5
USA 6

The fact of the matter is that basically all developed countries other than the US guarantee health care coverage for all their citizens. And all of them fare better in life expectancy and infant mortality rates than does the US. Do we have the best healthcare facilities in the world? Perhaps we do. But that doesn't do any good when there are 50 million people who can't get treatment because they don't have coverage. (Or often, even if they do, but that's another story.)

Let's care for our fellow countrymen, folks. Let's ensure healthcare for all.