http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/news/0,,2031604,00.html

America’s healthcare is looking good compared to the UK, even in terms of people receiving basic healthcare.

Alan, I feel sorry for your logic, and it does quite upset me. I can give you studies that say we are all aliens living on another planet. A study is only as good as the person responsible for it. The scientific method has often been manipulated by people who don’t understand it.

Your quote: ‘The British, on the other hand, have free access to primary care. Health issues get caught sooner and the British people are healthier for it. Too simple? Probably. But it makes sense. Better access to healthcare=better health.’

Free primary health care? I’m an xpatt and I can tell you that your statment is simply not true. There are many, many, many people around me who have died as a result of a significant lack of health care, including my next door neighbor who died just a few weeks ago in her early 30′s. Issues get caught sooner? That couldn’t be further from the truth. Issues don’t get dealt with is more like it. The NHS (if you know what that is) is in a HUGE crisis. Not everyone has access to free health care. In fact, more and more often a lottery system has been employed to select who gets it and who doesn’t.

I’ll give 2 examples. Firstly, me. My knees have been having fairly significant trouble in the UK from years of hard work and predisposing factors (such as flat feet). I went to my primary care physician to get a simple knee brace. One and a half years later (and I’m not exxagerating here) I’m waiting to receive a letter telling me when I can go to a clinic to have my knee brace fitted. I’m on a never-ending waiting list.

Secondly, my wife. My wife was diagnosed in America as having a rare bowel disorder, Pneumatosis Intestinalis Cytosis, while we were on holiday a few years ago. Due to her symptoms and diagnosis of free-air on an x-ray, my wife received basic care and follow-up treatment within 2 weeks that could have saved her life as she could have burst her abdomen had she gotten on a plane to go back home to the UK. I gave our local hospital instructions for follow-up care which included a highly suggested CT scan for follow-up to clarify the condition after air travel. No investigation followed. Instead a long battle ensued in which doctors denied anything wrong. After dealing with management within the NHS, they finally admitted to wrongdoing but still have not offered additional treatment (we are talking years now). The solution has been made through my own diagnosis and treatment of my wife at our own expense and herbal treatments such as Oxipowder- which seem to have greatly helped.

What is my point? I am very concerned for America. Americans need to be careful before they act like experts on issues they know nothing about. George Bush has been guilty of this, and I’m hoping democrats don’t go down the same path. Health care in America is a big problem, and people need to have coverage. But Americans without doubt have the most advanced health care in the world. Its sad and worrying that some Americans don’t have access to it. But lets not be drastic and change the system to something Americans know nothing about. Americans health is determined by their own actions. Brits can’t afford to eat out, eat fat, and watch as much entertainment as Americans. If they did, I think you would find brits would not live nearly as long as Americans, unless their genetic predisposition was more beneficial in the first place.

I agree with most of the responses earlier from Thomas, Amba, Michael, Pete, and especially XWL who I believe is right on the mark.

XWL, maybe you should run for office. We need more people to be more globally aware like you are.

Oh, and by the way we are planning to move back to America primarily for many reasons, one of which is decent health care, freedom, capitalism, and.. krispy kreme.

As long as the payors are separated, there’s no incentive for a mental health ‘carve out’ insurance company to improve access and quality to care in order to allow another insurance company to reap the rewards.

My guess is we’re unhealthy because we drive rather than walk, which is a consequence of living in suburbs rather than walkable cities or villages. When I’m in Paris or New York I walk miles a day — and lose weight. Here in North Carolina I walk to the car. We built a society around the car, and, since we spend our lives in our cars we tend to eat in them as well, and Hardees is not the place to get a nice salad.

’cause I thought we, Americans, care a big deal about our health…

Well, that’s such a big homework for everybody…

Here’s another one: what if it’s partly cultural? What if our rugged individualism leads us to live riskier lives and avoid seeking out medical help until a problem is a crisis?

That problem would then be compounded by access issues. If we as a people are already predisposed to avoid check ups, making healthcare less available would only make the problem worse.

Yes, it’s true I don’t have data to back this access theory up. But I do think a certain amount of logic is on my side.

Instead they are told to do the sensible lifestyle changes that everyone should do anyway, take two aspirin, and go home.

The lower rates of self-reported illnesses aren’t de facto an actual lower rate of illnesses, chalk it up to observational bias.

In the US folks with means are more likely to get every possible complaint diagnosed by a specialist who has an incentive to find that illness as soon as possible, in the UK you have overworked GPs who know that there are no specialists to refer borderline patients to, even if they suspect that there is an undiagnosed illness, so instead just tell them to eat better, exercise more, et cetera.

The study cited says nothing about life expectancy (which is rising in the US, despite all the talk about obesity, and the UK numbers are , not vastly better), you’ve made an inference that’s not supported by the facts of the study (an understandable error though, as that is how this study is being spun).

(and if you think folks are happy with the NHS, read any British paper for a week)

Diet change from high fat high processed foods to using basic meat and vegetables. Oh, that means more time spent in preparation and cooking, huh! You should try my wife’s 10 hour stew – it cooks while she is at work in a very slow pot.

Less time spent in sedentary pasttimes, particularly for the kids. But then if you are taking the kids to football or swimming or cycling then you are going to miss the afternoon game, huh!

Walk or bike the kids to school instead of drive. Oh, I forgot about the baddies with guns – won’t go there.

I guess that cultural change along those lines would be just plain too hard…