Monday, February 18, 2013

U.S. ranks first in healthcare spending but last in life expectancy

(NaturalNews) If you think pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, and various other instruments of modern Western medicine are responsible for improving quality of life and increasing the average lifespan in America, think again. A report recently issued by the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reveals that the U.S. spends up to 250 percent more on healthcare than most other developed nations, and yet has the lowest life expectancy rate among all these same nations.

Entitled U.S. Health in International Perspectives: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health, the report compares the latest available data on mortality and health outcomes in the United States with that of 16 other so-called "peer" nations, including Japan, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada. Each of these other countries is considered to be roughly on par with the U.S. in terms of income and government structure, and each represents an important cross-section of the collective welfare of the developed world.

Based on the figures, the U.S. far outspends all other developed nations on healthcare expenditures, ranking in at a whopping $8,233 annually per person, on average. The only nation that even comes close to this figure is Norway, which spends roughly $5,388 annually per person on medical expenditures, or roughly 65 percent of what the U.S. spends. Iceland, whose economy recently made a huge comeback after its citizens forcibly dismantled the nation's corrupt central bank, only spends about $3,309 annually per person.

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