The best healthcare system in the world

Whenever people debate the topic of universal healthcare for Americans, some devotee to free market orthodoxy will trot out that “best system in the world” horseshit slogan. It is a response so Pavlovian with that crowd, I almost want to give the good little conservative a cookie as a reward. And to some extent, that argument is true, if you are rich, or happen to be in Congress. Otherwise, the results are somewhat patchy. One needs only to read the new report ranking the US 42nd in life expectancy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are living longer than ever, but not as long as people in 41 other countries.

For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles.

Countries that surpass the U.S. include Japan and most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands.

"Something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries," said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Now, there are several contributing factors to this ranking. Americans are getting ever fatter and lazier, infant mortality is way too high for a nation so wealthy, there are racial issues, etc. It is, however, hard to argue that many, if not most of these problems, would improve with quality, universal healthcare. Above all, this should kill the “best system in the world” dodge. One cannot debate credibly that 42nd equals the best in anything.