Is Health Care in America Better Than in Any Other Place on Earth?
Table 8–5 compares, over time, the amount of money paid per capita in the United States and several other nations for health care. In 2007, the amount of money paid per capita in the United States was more than dou- ble the amount spent in Denmark. Yet, despite the high expenditures for
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health care, we were not healthier in 2006 than people from other nations. The infant mortality rate is the figure used as a standard for measuring the overall health of a nation. Infant mortality rates in the United States have been steadily declining since 1960 and the national average stood at 6.7 deaths in 2006, the most recent year that data is available from per 1,000 births; yet, some southern states are experiencing a rise in their infant mor- tality rates. In fact, 26 other nations had lower infant mortality rates than the United States. Table 8–6 illustrates infant mortality rates from selected countries, 1960 and 2006 and the estimates for 2012 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010, p. 131). In addition, the World Factbook, published by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2009 includes estimated infant mortality rates for 2012. The entry gives the number of deaths of infants under 1 year old in a given year per 1,000 live births and ranks each country from highest to lowest number of deaths. Afghanistan, with 121.63 deaths ranks first; Monaco, with 1.80 deaths ranks 222 last; and, the United States ranks 174 with 5.98 deaths (The World Factbook, 2009). The infant mortality estimated rates for other nations are included in Table 8–6.