We're # 37 In National Ranking Of Healthcare Systems! We Beat Cuba, But Just Barely. And We Spend More Than Almost Anyone Else.

The World Health Organization ("WHO") ranked the healthcare systems of the nations of the world based on five criteria. In that ranking, the U.S. came in as #37. We beat Slovenia (#38) and Cuba (#39) but just barely. And we spend a whole lot more than other countries do. Note: the last ranking by the WHO was in 2000.

The World Health Organization also looked at how much countries pay for healthcare. As of 2005, the U.S. spent more as a percentage of our GDP than all other nations of the world, except one.

So we grossly overpay to get crappy healthcare. Are we really that stupid? We need Medicare for all, to let everyone who wants to buy into a nonprofit healthcare system. Anybody who wants to continue with private health insurance, and can afford to do so, be my guest.

You hear the Republicans screaming that our businesses can't compete because of labor costs in this country. But the truth is our businesses are hammered by a healthcare system run amuck, by greedy insurance companies and grossly overpaid doctors and hospitals, with drug costs two or three times what are charged to people in other countries for the exact same drugs.

We are being pecked to death by vultures. Isn't it time both political parties got serious, and acknowledged that the only way to stop these runaway healthcare costs, to save lives and businesses and jobs, is to begin allowing Americans to buy into Medicare on a non-profit basis.

Here is the WHO ranking of the world's healthcare systems:

1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica

37 United States of America

38 Slovenia
39 Cuba
40 Brunei
41 New Zealand
42 Bahrain
43 Croatia
44 Qatar
45 Kuwait
46 Barbados
47 Thailand
48 Czech Republic
49 Malaysia
50 Poland
51 Dominican Republic
52 Tunisia
53 Jamaica
54 Venezuela
55 Albania
56 Seychelles
57 Paraguay
58 South Korea
59 Senegal
60 Philippines
61 Mexico
62 Slovakia
63 Egypt
64 Kazakhstan
65 Uruguay
66 Hungary
67 Trinidad and Tobago
68 Saint Lucia
69 Belize
70 Turkey
71 Nicaragua
72 Belarus
73 Lithuania
74 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
75 Argentina
76 Sri Lanka
77 Estonia
78 Guatemala
79 Ukraine
80 Solomon Islands
81 Algeria
82 Palau
83 Jordan
84 Mauritius
85 Grenada
86 Antigua and Barbuda
87 Libya
88 Bangladesh
89 Macedonia
90 Bosnia-Herzegovina
91 Lebanon
92 Indonesia
93 Iran
94 Bahamas
95 Panama
96 Fiji
97 Benin
98 Nauru
99 Romania
100 Saint Kitts and Nevis
101 Moldova
102 Bulgaria
103 Iraq
104 Armenia
105 Latvia
106 Yugoslavia
107 Cook Islands
108 Syria
109 Azerbaijan
110 Suriname
111 Ecuador
112 India
113 Cape Verde
114 Georgia
115 El Salvador
116 Tonga
117 Uzbekistan
118 Comoros
119 Samoa
120 Yemen
121 Niue
122 Pakistan
123 Micronesia
124 Bhutan
125 Brazil
126 Bolivia
127 Vanuatu
128 Guyana
129 Peru
130 Russia
131 Honduras
132 Burkina Faso
133 Sao Tome and Principe
134 Sudan
135 Ghana
136 Tuvalu
137 Ivory Coast
138 Haiti
139 Gabon
140 Kenya
141 Marshall Islands
142 Kiribati
143 Burundi
144 China
145 Mongolia
146 Gambia
147 Maldives
148 Papua New Guinea
149 Uganda
150 Nepal
151 Kyrgystan
152 Togo
153 Turkmenistan
154 Tajikistan
155 Zimbabwe
156 Tanzania
157 Djibouti
158 Eritrea
159 Madagascar
160 Vietnam
161 Guinea
162 Mauritania
163 Mali
164 Cameroon
165 Laos
166 Congo
167 North Korea
168 Namibia
169 Botswana
170 Niger
171 Equatorial Guinea
172 Rwanda
173 Afghanistan
174 Cambodia
175 South Africa
176 Guinea-Bissau
177 Swaziland
178 Chad
179 Somalia
180 Ethiopia
181 Angola
182 Zambia
183 Lesotho
184 Mozambique
185 Malawi
186 Liberia
187 Nigeria
188 Democratic Republic of the Congo
189 Central African Republic
190 Myanmar

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

As of 2005, the U.S. is second (out of 193 nations) in the amount we spend on healthcare as a percentage of GDP. http://www.photius.com/rankings/total_health_expenditure_as_pecent_of_gdp_2000_to_2005.html

We're #2 in how much money we spend for healthcare. But we're only #37 when ranked for how good our healthcare system is, how well does it work. Just how stupid are we? Why won't our politicians help us? They've spent an entire year with the Democrats saying "We need to reform healthcare to cut back on the obscene expense of our system." But what the Democrats propose is a tiny little blip, and will not solve the underlying problem, which is that we pay too much for our healthcare.

The doctors, hospitals, drug sellers and health insurance companies have monopoly control, and they charge us grossly excessive amounts. Because they can.

The Republicans' position on healthcare is: "We may need to reform it, but let's talk about it for a few more years." It's like these politicians have no idea that people are actually dying, actually going bankrupt every single day, going without their life-saving drugs, because of our out of control healthcare system.

We need change, and we need it now.