Longevity data proves that American health care is inferior, right?
Is American healthcare inferior to that in the heavily socialized countries? After all, our infant mortality is worse, and our lifespans are lower, right? For specific diseases, we actually do better than the countries that have fully socialized medicine. Cultural factors cause us problems that even our superior health care cannot overcome. Low birthweight babies are more likely to survive if they are born in the United States than in the countries that are supposed to have lower infant mortality. We simply have many more low birthweight babies, due to cultural problems like drug abuse. As far as longevity, we have much greater obesity, which leads to more diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other health problems. Looking at specific cancers, we find that Americans are much more likely to survive than their Canadian, British, German, or Australian counterparts. We actually have the highest longevity once violent death is taken out of the equation. Our healthcare is so good, that it can almost compensate for our unhealthy lifestyles.