Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Happy Bastille Day...

...to all you Francophiles out there. The French tend to bring out a lot of emotion among Americans, most of it negative for some reason. But whether you love or hate the French, it's worth noting as the battle for health care reform in this country heats up that the World Health Organization ranked the French health care system the best in the world. (The last ranking was in 2000.) Where was the U. S. system? 37th. Right behind Costa Rica and just ahead of Slovenia. Who else edged out the United States? Such world powers as Colombia, Morocco, and Chile.

I've never been a big fan of rankings, but since the U. S. spends far more on health care than any other country, wouldn't you expect to see our outcomes ranked in the top five or so? How about the top 10? Surely the top 35?

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