Health Care Numbers

I came across some interesting charts regarding health care costs, life expectancy in various industrialized nations (the US does do better that the Czech Republic and the Soviet Union), projections on percentage of Americans who will continue to receive health coverage through their employer.

The charts are available on John Dingell's (Michigan's 15th district) website, but I've included a link for your convenience. Click on the charts to see enlarged versions.

For those of you who need to cut to the chase: well, the US spends a bigger fraction of its GDP for poorer citizen health than most industrialized nations. We're pretty much the only "advanced" nation whose citizens face the threat of healthcare-related bankruptcy.

But for the top 1% of the income "earners" in the US population... why those folks receive the best care available on the planet.

Which I guess is why meaningful reform of the American health care system is unlikely.