Comparing the Health Care Systems of 11 Industrial Countries

Comparing the Health Care Systems of 11 Industrial Countries

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I was going to post this in the Single Payer thread and in the Open Thread for today, but this turned out to be its own post.  This year's Commonwealth Fund International Profiles of Health Systems (PDF) is out. This is particularly useful in detailing how governments cover the health care of their citizens (as in, "single payer" looks different depending upon where you are -- instructive) and in summarizing overall outcomes of these systems. We get middling quality care and pay more than anyone else for it -- 17.7% of our GDP (and this is without covering everybody) vs The Netherlands (the next highest) at 11.9%. We're in the bottom third of countries able to get same day appointments and in being able to get after hours care. We're the highest in the number of avoidable medical system deaths and in the bottom third of overall satisfaction with the medical care system.  So much for the greatest medical care in the world.
Totally not related

Totally not related

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This:
Freak November Tornadoes Wreak Havoc. A fast-moving storm system triggered multiple tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana on Sunday, killing at least two people, injuring about 40 and flattening large parts of the city of Washington, Illinois as it crashed across the Midwest, officials said.
And this:
Seventeen out of twenty-two Republican members of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, or 77 percent, are climate deniers.

Please. Just Stop

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Seriously? At least we know her mind won’t be preoccupied with haute couture. Here’s the black-on-black ensemble she sported last month when President Barack Obama officially nominated her: (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty…
Friday Open Thread [11.15.13]

Friday Open Thread [11.15.13]

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Morning Money: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gets all the love as the current GOP front-runner for 2016 (to the extent there can even be a front runner three years out.) But there is growing chatter in elite New York financial circles that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is giving more serious consideration to getting in the race, especially if it appears at any point that Christie is not drawing big national appeal beyond the northeast. Several plugged in GOP sources said Bush has moved from almost certainly staying out to a 30 percent chance of getting in. The '70/30' odds pop up in so many conversations they almost seem like circulated talking points." Jeb Bush will run. It is his last chance to run. So he has to run. If his last name was not Bush I dare say he would be a runaway favorite. Bush and Christie will divide the sane vote. The insane vote will be divided between Paul and Cruz. Now, who will win? It depends on the answer to this question: Are their more sane than insane people in the Republican Party/Tea Party?

Jason330 to announce plans to annouce the possibility of forming an exploratory committee to look into primarying the Democratic State Treasurer

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How hard could being Sate Treasurer be? Seriously. Especially for someone who has no other political ambitions, this job is a piece of cake. Not as easy as being the Development Director at CRI, but up there. Since the Christmas kickstarter project wasn't funded, (and since I will not be starting an athiest church anytime soon) I'll have a little time on my hands. While I cogitate on this some, you (yes you!) can be the cyber-pre-pre-exploratory committee by noting in the comments section how much it costs to file and what the deadlines are.
Anybody Else Longing For Single Payer?

Anybody Else Longing For Single Payer?

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Ok, now I am more than totally befuddled about our so called health care reform. Today the President announced that if you liked your piece of shit so called catastrophic health policy that covers practically nothing and leads you to bankruptcy court, you can keep it. If only the insurance companies will willingly volunteer to restore their pieces of shit policies. In the name of good citizenship.
Republican’s zero-sum thinking

Republican’s zero-sum thinking

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In my continuing attempt to understand the hobbled and frequently diseased mindset of conservatives, I've noticed that thinking of everything as a zero-sum game is huge with them. When I think of my Grandpa (or this blog's own resident grumpy racist grandpa, ...yes you Dana) I marvel at how they can view every dollar paid out to someone on welfare as a dollar taken out of their pockets. I wonder why they are so blinkered in their thinking that keeping the economy on the rocks is fine if the alternative is a healthy economy in which a non-white person might possibly get a health care subsidy. There is no sense of "growing the pie." The aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" makes no sense to them. I was reminded of that mindset again when I read that conservative Catholics are worried that the Pope is paying too much attention to the needy, and that attention means that they aren't getting enough Pope love. [...]
Costco spits on long held American tradition of screwing workers over

Costco spits on long held American tradition of screwing workers over

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This is shocking. It is downright unAmerican tell 'ya.
Bucking the incredibly lucrative trend for retailers to stay open during Thanksgiving, bulk food utopia Costco has announced that they would stay closed during the holiday, which is seriously blowing our minds with its lunacy.
Shopping on Thanksgiving is for losers. Sorry losers. I'm calling you out. [...]
Are the State House Republicans About to Flip on the Death Penalty?

Are the State House Republicans About to Flip on the Death Penalty?

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The Delaware House Republican Caucus recently posed a question to Facebook page asking whether the House Judiciary Committee should vote to release Senate Bill 19, which repeals the death penalty in Delaware and converts existing death sentences to life in prison without parole, for a vote on the floor by the full House. The Senate has already passed the bill by a razor thin 11-10 margin, and in the House, there was both bipartisan support for and bipartisan opposition to the bill, leading to House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Walker to table the bill. But imagine that! Republicans possibly in favor of allowing votes on the floor on controversial bills. These Delaware House Republicans may have to teach their national counterparts a thing or two. However, I suspect the motives of the GOP here are not pure.