>When it comes to the status of healthcare in the U.S., I've written my views numerous times and I included the reasons why I think this country needs a health system overhaul. However, to say that healthcare in any other western country is better, is false. Healthcare coverage (reaching larger portions of the population) is better in other western countries, but not healthcare. When it comes to emergency care and tests and difficult diagnosis, procedures, and treatments, the U.S. is best at that. Where the U.S. falls short is in day-to-day care from family physicians for the entire country and chronic illness care. Our family physicians are pushing their patients through a 15 minutes session which is inadequate and lacks sufficient focus on the needs and lifestyle of the patients. In some cases illnesses get mroe severe because of it and the patient is forced to seek those expensive surgical procedures that would not have been necessary had they sought and received better family physician care. There is a portion of our population that has no healthcare (I'm not including the idiots who choose not to participate in an offered plan) and that is our major problem. There are those who were dropped by their insurance company or who could not afford health insurance who need to be covered. That is the most critical change we need. However, if and when the entire population is afforded affordable healthcare, we will still have the problem of sufficient time and focus on patients in clinics to avoid the expense of those treatments and surgeries that could be avoided with proper care.

I largely agree with you here.

> When it comes to emergency care and tests and difficult diagnosis, procedures, and treatments, the U.S. is best at that

Not sure whether that is entirly correct though. I don't think you'll find any shocking difference between the US and many other western countries. There is an awfull lot of research going on all over the globe to improve test, diagnosis and developping new procedures and treatments.