A Healthcare Con Artist: Ryan Claims Universal Coverage Fails in Every Nation

[applegrove]

A Healthcare Con Artist: Ryan Claims Universal Coverage Fails in Every Nation

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/11667-a-healthcare-con-artist-ryan-claims-universal-coverage-fails-in-every-nation

"SNIP.................................

Most notably -- as an indication that Paul Ryan's ambition is fueled by dishonesty -- is a 2011 statement he made on videotape on universal coverage and Medicare. Ryan said (and we will put this in italics), "Government-run healthcare doesn’t work. Wherever we’ve seen government-run healthcare, it’s failed."

Let's repeat that, and for commenters who will claim Ryan didn't say that we have him on tape (courtesy of WashingtonStakeout.com): "Wherever we’ve seen government-run healthcare, it’s failed."

This a flat out lie for the consumption of flat earth voters. In fact, there is no nation in the developed world with some form of universal medical coverage that has reversed it. Here is a map from The Atlantic Magazine that shows nations that provide universal coverage in varying forms. Underneath the map is the caption, "The US stands almost entirely alone among developed nations that lack universal health care." Just click here to view.

To repeat, there is not one Western nation (which includes all of Western Europe, Canada and Israel) where voters have voted for candidates who have campaigned on removing universal coverage: not one. Even "The Iron Lady," Margaret Hatcher, couldn't politically push to do away with the UK National Health Service.

....................................SNIP"

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. The NHS in Britain is great

I had midwives at the birth and I never had to wait long as long as I do here in the US. Canada's system is great.

MAJOR FACT HERE - universal healthcare is not a business and it treats the things that are necessary. If it is urgent in the UK you are seen very quickly.

[Denzil_DC]

2. K&R n/t

[Freddie]

3. That is precisely why

The Repugs have been virulently opposed to any form of universal coverage, no matter how it would be achieved, since at least the days of Hillarycare:
People would really like it, and would never give it up.
This is why they are so determined to repeal the ACA now, before 2014 when the good things (subsidies, exchanges) start happening.
Fucking bastards. They simply hate "regular people."

[achtung_circus]

4. I wish I had known that,

before happily using the Canadian system for the last 56 years.

I suppose I am a statistical anomaly.

[Ikonoklast]

6. According to the Republican Party, you should already be dead.

You must have a very hardy constitution to survive the barbaric Canadian health care system.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

5. didn't mittens praise Israel's healthcare system a couple of weeks ago?

[Poiuyt]

7. Not according to the World Health Organization

The US is ranked #37

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-healthcare-systems-in-the-world-2012-6?op=1
-----
The Commonwealth Fund wasn't so kind:

U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System Performance Based on Measures of Quality, Efficiency, Access, Equity, and Healthy Lives

On measures of quality the United States ranked 6th out of 7 countries.

On measures of efficiency, the U.S ranked last due to low marks when it comes to spending on administrative costs, use of information technology, re-hospitalization, and duplicative medical testing.

On measures of access to care, people in the U.S. have the hardest time affording the health care they need—with the U.S. ranking last on every measure of cost-related access problems.

On measures of healthy lives, the U.S. does poorly, ranking last when it comes to infant mortality and deaths before age 75 that were potentially preventable with timely access to effective health care, and second to last on healthy life expectancy at age 60.

On measures of equity, the U.S. ranks last.

--

more
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/News/News-Releases/2010/Jun/US-Ranks-Last-Among-Seven-Countries.aspx

[Zoeisright]

8. Eddie Munster is a fucking liar.

I hate his guts.

[cleduc]

9. Here's a couple facts on Ryan's claim using OECD 2009 figures

1. Of the 24 countries with universal health care, all but two have a higher life expectancy than the US. The two countries below the US (38th) in life expectancy are right behind the US: Portugal (39th) and Slovenia (40th) and a couple of tenths of a year lower in life expectancy. But Portugal & Slovenia pays 2/3 per capita less ($5,460 less per person) than the US does for health care.

2. The US pays by far the most per person for health care $7,960/person = 48.7% more than the second highest country in the world.

3. If the US went to single payer at Canada's rates and got Canadian outcomes (ignoring murder rates, etc), the US would save $1.12 trillion every year and the average US citizen would live about 2.5 years longer.

4. The current US deficit is between $1.1 and $1.3 trillion/year. If the US cut over to a single payer system like Canada has, at Canadian rates, the US Federal budget would effectively be immediately balanced or very, very close to it.

* the above is not entirely fair. For example, the US does a lot of R&D for medicine and that probably affects their numbers some but a lot of that R&D is done outside the health care system as well so it doesn't nearly account for the difference.

The US not having single payer health care is arguably lining the pockets of doctors, insurance companies and the billionaires to the tune of $1 trillion dollars per year (very roughly) and costing the average American 2.5 years of their life.

We know lack of health care costs about 45,000 American lives per year
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/september/harvard_study_finds_.php

We also know that if Ryan guts Medicare & Medicaid per his budget, that will kill about 18,000 more Americans per year (per extrapolating CBO number of people who will lose coverage under Ryan plan).

I don't like to resort to right wing rhetoric but Romney-Ryan, killing Obamacare and effectively killing Medicare-Medicaid strikes me as legislative genocide because 45,000 Americans will resume dying per year without health care.

So Romney picked a suitable VP candidate for his campaign because he lies and flip-flops just like Romney and he too doesn't care about Americans dying without health care.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. I'm sure that that comes as quite a shock to people

living in Canada, UK, Germany, France, hell, just about every single frellin' country other than us!


That's a whopper all right!!!

[anakie]

11. it works pretty well in Australia

n/t

[dsteve01]

12. We should avoid Universal Coverage at all costs

because the corporations profit off our anarchy and suffering. And anything that is bad for job creators is bad for America.

//end sarcasm.

[DLine]

13. This obviously explains why....

..other countries are tripping over themselves to establish an exclusive for profit health insurance industry like ours. Said nobody ever.

[Kablooie]

14. Someone should ask him, OK explain how UK healthcare failed.

Explain how Canadian healthcare failed.
Explain how Japanese healthcare failed.

He said every system failed so he must know about every system and can explain exactly how each one failed.

[UCmeNdc]

15. Another day Another Lie by Romney & Ryan

Romney and Ryan both can't win the argument so they just lie. Why bother listening to what they say?

[Scuba]

16. Complete list of countries that repealed their national healthcare coverage after implementing...

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(hope someone sends this to Ryan)

[davidpdx]

17. Add South Korea to that list

I really need to get off my ass and write a few letters to national newspapers. Anyone have an opinion which one would be the best:

USA Today
Washington Post
NY Times

I'd like to see if I can make a few slightly different versions so I can get it published in several papers.

I can attest that Korea's healthcare system is one of the best in the world. This week I just had a root canal and the insurance paid for almost all of it (the crown is another story, but still it's much cheaper than back home).

While I'll probably never go back to the US because Korea is my home now, I want everyone in the US to have healthcare coverage.

[JHB]

18. So...Ryan says Mitt was lying when he praised Israel's system?

Of course, he's been lying all through the campaign, but still, it's a little unusual for a newly-minted VP candidate to so openly say that about his leading man.....


...oh, sorry, I was living in a sane world for a moment there. The Anti-Obama Argle Bargle Club won't notice, and the "liberal media" won't point it out lest they look "partisan".

[area51]

19. Always ask idiots who spout this

that if universal health care in first world countries is so fscking bad, then why aren't their citizens either rioting in the streets, or voting out the current officials and voting in people who promise to give them a pro-death, for-profit system like ours.

And it's actually 100,000 deaths per year due to lack of health care. That's a medical emergency that needs to taken care of first before spending one more dollar on the MIC.

[CTyankee]

23. I asked my republican accountant that question!

You would not believe his answer: "Because they don't know any better."

I was astonished...

[Yavin4]

20. Their End-Game Is To Make Us Totally Dependent on the Whims of the Wealthy

In effect, we will be their servants since we will need to depend on them for money, food, housing, clothing, education, healthcare, etc. In sum, our very survival will depend on corporations and the rich. That's what they want. They don't want any commons at all.

Regular folks that support this nonsense believe that their "talent", their race, their religion, their heterosexuality, and their gender will some how protect them, and only "those" people will have to suffer.

[Lucy Goosey]

21. Lyin' Ryan

This is a good article from the AARP; I've posted it elsewhere, but it's worth re-posting ini this thread, I think.

http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-03-2012/myths-canada-health-care.html

5 Myths About Canada’s Health Care System
The truth may surprise you about international health care

Myth #5: Canada rations health care; the United States doesn’t.

This one’s a little bit tricky. The truth is, Canada may “ration” by making people wait for some things, but here in the United States we also “ration” — by cost.

An 11-country survey carried out in 2010 by the Commonwealth Fund, a Washington-based health policy foundation, found that adults in the United States are by far the most likely to go without care because of cost. In fact, 42 percent of the Americans surveyed did not express confidence that they would be able to afford health care if seriously ill.

[and-justice-for-all]

22. Tell that shit to Sweden...

and Tawain, very successful and stable NHSs and so are the majority of the other NHSs in other countries. The US is the only one who has private health services and you can only use it if you can afford it. The US system is a mega fucking fail.