EU-DIGEST

The Myth of ‘Best In The World’ - by Sharon Begley

In international comparisons of health care, the infant mortality rate is a crucial indicator of a nation's standing, and the United States' position at No. 28, with seven per 1,000 live births—worse than Portugal, Greece, the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and 23 other nations not exactly known for cutting-edge medical science—is a tragedy and an embarrassment. Much of the blame for this abysmal showing, however, goes to socioeconomic factors: poor, uninsured women failing to get prenatal care or engaging in behaviors (smoking, using illegal drugs, becoming pregnant as a teen) that put fetuses' and babies' lives at risk. You can look at 28th place and say, yes, it's terrible, but it doesn't apply to my part of the health-care system—the one for the non-poor insured.Only 55 percent of U.S. patients get treatments that scientific studies show to work, such as beta blockers for heart disease, found a 2003 study in The New England Journal of Medicine. One reason is that when insurance is tied to employment, you may have to switch doctors when you change jobs. In the past three years, says Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, 32 percent of Americans have had to switch doctors.

Other data, too, belie the "best in the world" mantra. The five-year survival rate for cervical cancer? Worse than in Italy, Ireland, Germany and others, finds the OECD. The survival rate for breast cancer? You'd do better in Switzerland, Norway, Britain and others. Asthma mortality? Twice the rate of Germany's or Sweden's. Some of the U.S. numbers are dragged down by the uninsured; they are twice as likely to have advanced cancer when they first see a doctor than are people with insurance, notes oncologist Elmer Huerta of Washington Hospital Center, president of the American Cancer Society. But the numbers of uninsured are too low to fully explain the poor U.S. showing. It isn't realistic to expect America to be the best in every measure of medical quality. And none of this tells us how to reform the U.S. system. But it does say the "best in the world" is misguided medical chauvinism that should not block attempts at reform.

Labels: Healthcare, US

Europe idle as US battles meltdown - by Ambrose Evans - Pritchard

It is the first time since the Great Depression that the US Fed has stepped in directly to absorb credit losses, crossing a line deemed unthinkable just months ago. The dramatic late-night move on Sunday required dredging up Article 13 (3) of the Federal Reserve Act, which allows the Fed to shower money on almost anybody it wishes by a vote of five governors in "unusual and exigent circumstances".Jean-Michel Six, chief Europe economist at Standard & Poor's, said the Europeans were in no mood to rescue America. "There is monetary war going on. The ECB view is that Fed is a victim of its own mistakes and should pay for its past crimes. Frankly, they don't see why they should be cutting rates when inflation (3.3pc) is accelerating," he said.

There are now echoes of October 1987 when the German Bundesbank (and therefore Europe) refused to ease monetary policy, even though the dollar was in freefall and Wall Street was fragile. The spat was the backdrop to the Black Monday crash.

Note EU-Digest: The ECB is on the right track, the problems of the US economy are of the US her own making. If the ECB cuts the interest rates in Europe, inflation would rise and Europe's economy would also spiral into disaster.

Labels: Britain, Christianity, Energy, EU, EU Economy, euro, France, Gas Supplies, Healthcare, Iraq war, Islam, Italy, Romance, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex Appeal, Turkey, US, US Economy

Learning Dutch lessons on teen pregnancy - by Laura Donnelly

Holland has the lowest rate of children born to teenage mothers across Western Europe - six times lower than Britain's statistics at the opposite end of the league table. When teenagers do fall pregnant, those in the Netherlands are slightly more likely than their counterparts in the UK to have abortions. But the gap between the number of births to teenage mothers is better explained by the lower levels of sexual activity in Holland before the age of consent.Liberal campaigners in Britain point to Holland's permissive health policies, including compulsory sex education in schools from the age of five, as being key to its success. But advocates of the Dutch approach say the practical demonstrations are just a tiny part of their agenda, which encourages teens to discuss the moral and emotional implications of sex. Typical debates include reasons to have sex, what to say if a boy refuses to wear a condom and how to maintain self-respect.

Labels: Education, EU, Healthcare, Netherlands

Netherlands has tallest people in the world - Americans' Girth Grows as Height Stagnates - by Karen Springen

The June issue of Social Science Quarterly revealed that Americans—the tallest in the world since Colonial times—are no longer the globe’s giants. That title now goes to the citizens of the Netherlands. There, the typical man stands 6 feet tall and the typical woman 5 foot 7—both more than 2 inches taller than their U.S. counterparts. Back in 1850, the Dutch and other Western Europeans were 2 inches shorter than Americans.

What does it mean that Americans are now among the shortest and fattest people in the industrialized world? If a number of studies out in the last two months are any indication, the stagnating height and expanding girth in the United States are not only related, they may be a sign of a decline in the overall health of Americans—particularly children.

Labels: Healthcare, Netherlands

Norwegians take in the sun in Spain on doctors' orders

Each year dozens of Norwegians flock to the coastal Spanish town of Altea to get Oslo-funded treatment at a rehabilitation centre for problems ranging from rheumatism to fractured bones.Except for a daily supplement of 15 euros (20 US dollars), the entire cost of their stay is covered by oil-rich Norway's well-developed social security net. This is a rare exception to a growing health tourism that officials say is putting a strain on facilities as residents from other EU states -- seeking to circumvent long waits or higher costs at home -- come to Spain knowing they are entitled to benefit from the country's free healthcare system. Except for the sun, nothing at the rehabilitation centre would lead you to think you were in Spain. The medical staff is Scandinavian as are the cooks while signs are all in Norwegian.

Labels: Europe, Healthcare, Norway