In the dialogue over health care reform, I have been struck by the concern of opponents that their ad lib access to health care might be restricted. For all those who insist that more is necessarily better, I present a few disquieting tidbits (all from reputable sources and readily available for your reading pleasure on the Internet) re: "health" care costs and consequences:
A 2000 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported 2000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgeries, 7000 from in-hospital medication errors, 20000 from "other" in-hospital medical mistakes.
A presidential task force in 2000 concluded that medical miscues cost as much as $29 billion annually and are responsible for 44000-90000 deaths.
The CDC reported more than 2 million nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections annually, causing nearly 30000 deaths and generating $4.5 billion in costs.
Lethal, drug-resistent bacteria, the emergence of which is a direct result of the habitual overutilization of antibiotics, kill an estimated 40000 North Americans each year. (The prevalence and virulence of Super Germs are rising and represent one potential Doomsday Scenario.)
The Progressive Policy Institute claimed that Americans spend $700 billion annually for unnecessary tests and procedures. Slightly more conservatively, a physician/author from Yale attributed $650 billion/year to medical waste, fraud, and abuse.
Sometimes less is more (and a lot safer).
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