Some interesting facts, in brief:

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On key statistics measured by the World Health Organization, Cuba is in line with the United States. The average life expectancy of a child born in Cuba is 77.2 years, compared with 77.9 years in the United States, according to the WHO. The number of children dying before their fifth birthday is seven per 1,000 live births in Cuba and eight per 1,000 in the United States. Yet the United States spends more than 26 times as much on health — $6,096 per person a year, compared with only $229 in Cuba, the WHO figures show. Dr. David Hickey, a transplant surgeon at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, said Cuba is a world leader in primary health care based on preventive medicine. “It’s a very sobering experience for someone coming from the affluent West to see what they can achieve,” he said. Hickey, an honorary professor of surgery at Havana University, said he had nothing to teach Cuban doctors who do heart, kidney, pancreas and liver transplants. A decades-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba forced it to develop its own molecular biology industry, which produces innovative drugs that prevent rejection in transplants. Cuba has developed the world’s first Meningitis B vaccine which is available in Third World countries but not in Europe or the United States due to U.S. sanctions. Hickey said Cuba’s health care budget was no larger that his hospital’s. “Cuba looks after 11 million with the same budget and produces better health care in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality and vaccination rates than we do,” he said.

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

Well, if you want to continue to compare the two countries, in the US, the average per capita income is around $40,000. In Cuba it's $3,000. Also, Cuba has almost twice the amount of abortions per capita as the United States, which drastically helps infant mortality rates. If all "high risk" births in the United States were aborted, I'm sure our infant mortality rate would be next to zero.

So, if you want to live in poverty and have all at risk pregnancies aborted, I'm sure Cuba would be a great place to live for great health care.

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Originally posted by NeoPhono Well, if you want to continue to compare the two countries, in the US, the average per capita income is around $40,000. In Cuba it's $3,000. Also, Cuba has almost twice the amount of abortions per capita as the United States, which drastically helps infant mortality rates. If all "high risk" births in the United States were aborted, I'm sure our infant mortality rate would be next to zero. So, if you want to live in poverty and have all at risk pregnancies aborted, I'm sure Cuba would be a great place to live for great health care.

Why do you get mad for? Let him have his peace that Cuba is a great country and that the US isn't.

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Originally posted by NeoPhono Well, if you want to continue to compare the two countries, in the US, the average per capita income is around $40,000. In Cuba it's $3,000. Also, Cuba has almost twice the amount of abortions per capita as the United States, which drastically helps infant mortality rates. If all "high risk" births in the United States were aborted, I'm sure our infant mortality rate would be next to zero.

Stupid post... many women who go through with "high risk" births actually damage their own health.

Encouraging a high risk birth is nothing to be proud of.

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

Last edited by HardTranceProd on Jun-25-2007 at 17:12

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Originally posted by HardTranceProd Stupid post... many women who go through with "high risk" births actually damage their own health. Encouraging a high risk birth is nothing to be proud of.

That's not the point. The point is if you're looking purely at statistics, if you abort high risk pregnancies, you're going to have a lower infant mortality rate.

I'm not trying to "hate" on Cuba. I'm trying to put things into perspective. It's easy to pick and choose what you'd like in order to prove or disprove a point. I'm simply putting a few other ideas out there.

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Originally posted by NeoPhono Well, if you want to continue to compare the two countries, in the US, the average per capita income is around $40,000. In Cuba it's $3,000. Also, Cuba has almost twice the amount of abortions per capita as the United States, which drastically helps infant mortality rates. If all "high risk" births in the United States were aborted, I'm sure our infant mortality rate would be next to zero. So, if you want to live in poverty and have all at risk pregnancies aborted, I'm sure Cuba would be a great place to live for great health care.

Have any links to prove that in Cuba high risk births are aborted? Just out of curiosity.

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Poetry>Byron//Blog>TheMean

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Orbax At that point you kind of crossed the rubicon and you might as well lay siege to Rome

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Originally posted by venomX Have any links to prove that in Cuba high risk births are aborted? Just out of curiosity.

http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/14776.htm

Under "health."

I'm in Rome and my laptop battery is just about dead. I'll to get some more concrete sources later tonight.

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Originally posted by NeoPhono http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/14776.htm Under "health." I'm in Rome and my laptop battery is just about dead. I'll to get some more concrete sources later tonight.

Have you seen the movie yet?

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Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Social outcasts are often of the opinion that they must have a drink before being able to loosen up with their inhibitions, thus being able to have a good time. There's a word that sums up this sort of behaviour, and that word is 'reject.'

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Originally posted by _Ocean_Drive_ Have you seen the movie yet?

Not yet, no. That's why I won't comment on what's in the movie. If there are any general statements made, I'll try to post either for or against them, just not specifics from the movie itself.

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Originally posted by Yoepus Andy Grove (ex-CEO of Intel) had a good op-ed in the latest issue of Fortune magazine on this topic: I like this approach because it is doable and tackles two of the biggest reasons that make our health care expensive. I don't like this proposal because it levy's a new tax; if this is done I believe it should be embedded in the price and insurance/doctors should not be allowed to increase their prices to compensate for the tax. (In away this would force a 1% efficiency increase if you want to think of it that way).

Well the records could be biometrically encrypted on a device such as the stuff featured on www.ntrance.us (NOT a SPAM or whatever you wanna call it, but a recommendation). Passwords just aren't enough IMO.

I saw the movie yesterday.

The interesting part about Cuba is that anyone in there got Health coverage for a really cheap price ( if anything ), and this woman getting medicine for 5 cents compared to the 100+ dollars she spends for the same here in the US.

They were able to get treated with top of the line equipment where as here in the US they were just getting worst.

Just examples.

Really loved the movie and Michael Moore really focuses on the wrong perception that the American People have been induce to think about Universal Coverage, and how the US ranks 36 I think it was right next to Slovenia on terms of it's Health Insurance. Also interesting tape from the Nixon about HMO's. Great movie for Americans to see and for once go out and protest about it .

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Upcoming:

Michael Andrews Feat. Gary Jules - Mad World (Grayed Out Mix)

Really enjoyed this film.

It highlighted what I was saying in the health care thread about how we've come to defeat ourselves by believing that we can't help everyone, and that there's not enough to go around.

I wish he would have touched more on the pharmaceutical companies and the FDA approval process and its inherent corruption, but I guess you can only do so much with two hours time.