eAlert Tue, 04/04/2017 - 12:00 6e0e5dcb-18df-4427-a81e-4a141ec48021

<p>It is often assumed that, because the U.S. invests so heavily in technology and specialists, our health care system performs well for patients who have rare or complex diseases. Yet, David Squires and David Blumenthal, M.D., point out that new research shows that’s not always true. </p><p>A recent study in the <em>Annals of Internal Medicine </em>comparing the health outcomes of U.S. and Canadian patients with cystic fibrosis, finds that, on average, Canadian patients live 10 years longer than American patients. And the gap has been widening for the past two decades. The researchers suggest the likely culprit is the significant gaps in health insurance coverage among U.S. children and adults under age 65.</p>
<p>“In medical terms, we might call uninsurance a ‘comorbidity,’” the authors write. “One unique to the United States among all industrialized nations, and just as deadly as pneumonia or diabetes.”</p>

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2017/apr/us-preeimence-in-high-tech-medicine Read the post