Iraqis get medical care that 40 million Americans can't get.

[keithyboy]

It's not that I don't want the Iraqis to get medical care for their conditions, but it is so maddening that we can't do the same for our POOR citizens. This is a shameful move of political grandstanding trying to put the face of compassion on on manic oppression.

[Mika]

1. That's because Iraqis DEMAND it

Just as do the Cuban people.

Government better respond to the demands of the citizens or it will be changed.


Not so in the good ol' US of A, where drug companies and insurance companies rule.

[Incipient]

4. Cuban people aren't in the position to demand anything

They are existing under a despotic dictator. Have we forgotten?

[keithyboy]

5. Yes, and they have one of the best healthcare systems is the world.

And higher literacy than US.

[mark414]

6. literacy

isn't theirs 100%?

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[camero]

11. we rank 37th

http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlawperspectives/HealthPolic...

Americans enjoy the best health care in the world," reads the 2000 GOP Platform adopted by Republican National Convention delegates on July 31, 2000. Perhaps it is one of the best kept secrets around, but the preceding quote, which is a commonly held belief in the U.S., rings astoundingly untrue. Yes, excellent medical care is available in the U.S., and ground-breaking medical research is conducted here. Most Americans, however, are not aware of the low U.S. rankings in studies comparing various countries' health care.



According to the World Health Report, of the 191 countries in the study, the U.S. spent the highest percentage (13.7%) of its Gross Domestic Product on health care but still managed only to achieve an overall ranking of 37. The World Health Report also found that private (non-governmental) health expenses as a percentage of total health expenses in most industrialized countries average only 25% because most have universal health coverage. In the U.S., however, private (non-governmental) health expenditure runs 55.9%.

How can anyone say that a country with health care/status that ranks 37th of 191 and 12th of 13 truly has the best health care in the world? The U.S. may actually have the best health care in the world for some Americans -- for those with the resources to pay for their health care, for those with access to primary care physicians and specialists. But for every American receiving this elusive best health care in the world, many more Americans receive woefully inadequate care. After all, over 40 million Americans lack health insurance. Numerous factors (from the structure of the U.S. health system to the American lifestyle) contribute to the low rankings of the U.S. compared to other industrialized (and some non-industrialized) countries. It is clear, however, that to say Americans are experiencing the best health care in the world is to buy into a myth.

[Name removed]

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[camero]

16. dang missed it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Bridget Burke]

7. They got rid of the previous government.

Castro couldn't have done it himself. But, we're "free"--the best medical care on earth is available in the USA. It's just not available to everybody.

And who is this "we" you speak of?

[Vladimir]

17. As opposed to the USA? n/t

[Palacsinta]

2. I feel the same way............

and it's a crummy way to feel. I struggle each month to make sure my daughter has money for her meds, but I don't want to cop an attitude about the Iraqis' medical care. We ALL need it!

[FlaGranny]

13. The only reason the Iraqis are getting

medical care is because bushy is trying to make an impression - after all, he has invaded and is occupying their territory, put most of them out of work, bulldozed their houses, etc., etc. But they are getting "freedom" and medical care. And I've just been informed that to convert my Cobra insurance, which will soon expire, will cost me $950 a month. I won't get any medical care at all. Even if insured, I will not be able to afford care, and will not see a doctor unless I get a catastrophic illness - and I have been employed full time and a taxpayer in the good old USA since I was 17 years old.

[Name removed]

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[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Like you really care?

[Vickers]

12. Careful....your slip is showing.

Naughty!

[FlaGranny]

14. It isn't a choice of one or the other

it is both. We are raping and pillaging AND supplying medical care. Nobody ever claimed the Bush administration made sense.

[Vladimir]

18. I was wondering when this would become an issue

lets see, 80+ billion to invade, destroy and then rebuild Iraq. How many operations does that pay for? Ain't colonialism grand!