Japan's Failing "Universal" Health Care

[Adam's Apple]

Universal Health Care Spreads to Far East
Michael Arnold Glueck and Robert J. Cihak , the Medicine Men
January 22, 2007

Japan's Failing Health Care

Now, according to a recent release by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, it is failing in Japan.

If universal care were the genuine cure-all, the one country where it should work is Japan. They have a homogenous population, healthier lifestyle, eat more fish and soy, more vegetables and far less obesity than here.

If universal care does not work there, why should it work anywhere?

According to Japanese legislator Takashi Yamamoto, who was just diagnosed with cancer, "abandoned cancer refugees are roaming the Japanese archipelago." Patients are told they'll never get better, even when treatments exist, and many are not even informed of their diagnoses.

Cancer mortality rates in Japan have been steadily climbing and are now more than 250 per 100,000, while U.S. rates are now around 180 per 100,000.

Japanese public television showed the stark contrast. In the U.S., multiple specialists meet to discuss a cancer patient¹s care. In Japan, a single doctor usually makes the diagnosis and carries out treatment with minimal consultation.

for full article:
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/1/22/123737.shtml

 

[Psychoblues]

Are the Japanese overwhelming the clinics in America? No. In fact even American born citizens of Japanese ancestry go to Japan for medical treatment.

Are you really that blind? We, as Americans, certainly have a failed system for the health care of our population. Blame it on the corporatists, blame it on the polluters of our environment, blame it on the insurers of health benefits or the lobbyists that have no intention of helping anyone other than the billionaires that pay them, our system is broken and needs to be repaired.

 

[Annie]

Are the Japanese overwhelming the clinics in America? No. In fact even American born citizens of Japanese ancestry go to Japan for medical treatment.

Are you really that blind? We, as Americans, certainly have a failed system for the health care of our population. Blame it on the corporatists, blame it on the polluters of our environment, blame it on the insurers of health benefits or the lobbyists that have no intention of helping anyone other than the billionaires that pay them, our system is broken and needs to be repaired.

Link?

 

[Psychoblues]

Google it for yourself, kitty.

Link?

Nothing I say matters to you anyway, right?

 

[Annie]

Google it for yourself, kitty.




Nothing I say matters to you anyway, right?

I did, there's nothing.

 

[Psychoblues]

No surprise. You did it wrong and now you think it is my fault. You are such a puss for information.

 

[Bern80]

No surprise. You did it wrong and now you think it is my fault. You are such a puss for information.

she asked you to prove your totally asanine statement; 'most japanese americans fly all the way to fucking Japan to get medical treatment' (sorry I paraphrased a bit). Even you should be able to see how ridiculously stupid your own statement is. here it is:

In fact even American born citizens of Japanese ancestry go to Japan for medical treatment.

So let's see said 'fact'.

 

[Toro]

This is a disingenuous quote.

When the level of money injected into the blood sinks too low, the medical outcomes are rationing and restraint, accompanied by chronically high moral dilemmas. Medical care will be rationed, one way or another, so long as the government has finite resources and so long as people keep confusing insurance with fee-for-service.

You don't think there isn't restraint and rationing in health care in America?

 

[ReillyT]

Universal Health Care Spreads to Far East
Michael Arnold Glueck and Robert J. Cihak , the Medicine Men
January 22, 2007

Japan's Failing Health Care

Now, according to a recent release by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, it is failing in Japan.

If universal care were the genuine cure-all, the one country where it should work is Japan. They have a homogenous population, healthier lifestyle, eat more fish and soy, more vegetables and far less obesity than here.

If universal care does not work there, why should it work anywhere?

According to Japanese legislator Takashi Yamamoto, who was just diagnosed with cancer, "abandoned cancer refugees are roaming the Japanese archipelago." Patients are told they'll never get better, even when treatments exist, and many are not even informed of their diagnoses.

Cancer mortality rates in Japan have been steadily climbing and are now more than 250 per 100,000, while U.S. rates are now around 180 per 100,000.

Japanese public television showed the stark contrast. In the U.S., multiple specialists meet to discuss a cancer patient¹s care. In Japan, a single doctor usually makes the diagnosis and carries out treatment with minimal consultation.

for full article:
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/1/22/123737.shtml

Here is some information about Japan.

Total health spending (public and private) accounted for 7.6% of GDP in Japan in 2000, slightly less than the average of 8.1% in OECD countries (chart 3.4). Recent figures show that the health spending share of GDP rose to 8.0% in Japan in 2001, in line with the increase in the OECD. The United States is, by far, the country that spends the most on health as a share of its economy, with 13.9% of its GDP allocated to health in 2001.

In 2000, Japan enjoyed the highest life expectancy among OECD countries, with 81.2 years for the whole population.

Japan registered strong increases in life expectancy at age 65 as well. Japanese women enjoy the longest and Japanese men the second longest life expectancy at age 65 (chart 1.3). These gains have been driven largely by a marked reduction in death rates from heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases among elderly people in Japan, along with low mortality rates from cancer.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/5/16502622.pdf

Of course, the cancer mortality rate may have ticked up over the last few years. However, this should not be wholly unexpected.

Since cancer tends to strike at older ages, the absolute cancer burden in Japan is sure to worsen because of its aging population. It is predicted that by 2015 over one in four persons in Japan will be above age 65 (MHW 1951-1996). Like Japan, other industrialized countries will have an increasing percentage of elderly persons in coming years. Furthermore, these nations have also experienced a sharp decline in stroke (Thom 1993), increasing the relative share of cancer mortality.

http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/5/7-5.pdf

So why are cancer mortality statistics higher in Japan than in the US? Because they live longer than us. That is a nice problem to have.

 

[Toro]

So why are cancer mortality statistics higher in Japan than in the US? Because they live longer than us. That is a nice problem to have.

As I understand it, in Japan, if you have, say advanced colon cancer, you aren't going to get any treatment. Since you're going to die anyways, the thinking goes, why use more resources?

 

[ReillyT]

As I understand it, in Japan, if you have, say advanced colon cancer, you aren't going to get any treatment. Since you're going to die anyways, the thinking goes, why use more resources?

That may be rationale, but it sure is cold.

 

[Toro]

That may be rationale, but it sure is cold.

It sure is.

In America, a great deal of money is spent on the latter stages of cancer. That has extended the life span of many cancer patients. I believe America has one of the highest life spans after being diagnosed with cancer.

 

[ReillyT]

It sure is.

In America, a great deal of money is spent on the latter stages of cancer. That has extended the life span of many cancer patients. I believe America has one of the highest life spans after being diagnosed with cancer.

It is good to know I am getting something for my 6 percent of GDP.

 

[Psychoblues]

Your admitted "paraphrasing" is dishonest and completely false at best.

she asked you to prove your totally asanine statement; 'most japanese americans fly all the way to fucking Japan to get medical treatment' (sorry I paraphrased a bit). Even you should be able to see how ridiculously stupid your own statement is. here it is:



So let's see said 'fact'.

How about you goggleing the facts and come up with a better argument against American Universal Healthcare? Other than a few misinformed and militant reich wing screeds I doubt if you can come up with much of an argument.

 

[Bern80]

Your admitted "paraphrasing" is dishonest and completely false at best.




How about you goggleing the facts and come up with a better argument against American Universal Healthcare? Other than a few misinformed and militant reich wing screeds I doubt if you can come up with much of an argument.

As has been said over and over it isn't my job to prove statements you make and claim as fact. it's yours. So again please furnish us with a link that shows that says, oh, say 50% of japanese americans, living in America go all the way to Japan for their medical treatments.

You may be the worst debater on here. Though I can see why you do it. You can claim pretty much anything is a fact without providing a link to back it up. When called on it you tell other people to look it up themselves, knowing full well there is no link to be found. At which point you can make your bull shit claim that you did earlier, that someone must have searched wrong. How very convenient. What extremely small amount of credibility you may have had, is disappearing quickly.