O Canada
Canadians are healthier than Americans. They are less likely to have diabetes, high-blood pressure and other conditions. Why?
Canada's national health insurance program is part of the reason. Having universal coverage makes it easier for them to get disease-preventing health services. Harvard Med School researchers have found Americans are 42 percent more likely than Canadians to have diabetes, 32 percent more likely to have high blood pressure, and 12 percent more likely to have arthritis.
More disturbing stats below:
- 6.7 percent of Americans and 4.7 percent of Canadians reported having diabetes,
- 18.3 percent of Americans and 13.9 percent of Canadians reported having high blood pressure,
- Americans also reported more heart disease and major depression,
- 21 percent of Americans said they were obese, compared with 15 percent of Canadians,
- 13.5 percent of the Americans admitted to a sedentary lifestyle, versus 6.5 percent of Canadians,
- nearly twice as many Americans said there were medicines they needed but couldn't afford (9.9 percent versus 5.1 percent). [read the entire article]
Something tells me Americans are more likely to have Bariatric Surgery. What on earth is going on? How do Americans feel about this? People outside of America, why do you think you, as a whole, your country is healthier?
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4 Comments
06.08.06 | Debbi commented: Having health insurance doesn't mean you'll get the health care you need or want, particularly when it involves preventive or screening tests. I'm one hundred percent behind some kind of national health plan for the U.S. Go to http://www.pnhp.org for a rational, sensible solution.
Everyone in the active and retired military, every teacher, firefighter, policeman, Congressman and government worker are currently covered by government health insurance. There are reports of young men choosing the military – with the risk of being sent to war – because the health benefits for their families are better than that provided by private industry.
Can you tell this is a soapbox issue for me? 
06.09.06 | Shirley commented: I live in Canada and think generally there are less obese people here. Also, the food portions in restaurants are smaller than most in the US ( I have travelled to many US States and ate at restaurants) portions are definately bigger. Finally almost every Canadian I know visits the doctor regularly for check ups because it is covered by the Government. There are people who I know who live in the US who I have talked to who say that isn't possible for them because they dont have coverage. Does this mean our system has no flaw ???Absolutely not...but it does mean regular health check ups are given easily without exception. In some instances (surgeries) and in certain locations a wait is sometimes necessary. Even then though we have an option of going elsewhere and to the US (if the surgery cannot be accommodated or if you have money).
06.12.06 | Kat commented: Like Canada, Australia also has national health care. While a lot of people rely on this government funded care, others chose to have private health insurance as well - but it's not cheap. (I am one in the latter category.)
When I was in the US recently I become quite ill one night, and although I had traveller's insurance, I was worried about what sort of money I'd have to pay out if I presented at the local E.R. Granted I don't know as much about the state of US healthcare as I do Australian, but from what I've read it's enough to make me very uneasy.
As someone who will be living in the US in the near future, I worry about the lack of national health care. It also scares me that after more than twenty-five years of living in a country with national health care, I'm now facing life somewhere else without it.
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That kind of implies that people with health insurance in the US should have similar health statistics to people in other countries who also have health insurance. I don't know for sure that I believe it.