Wednesday, August 1, 2012

What did Mitt Romney learn about health care on his trip?


 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has just returned from traveling abroad, where he said he wanted to learn and listen. In Israel, he commented that Israel was a “pretty healthy nation” that spends far less on health care than the United States does. 


 Did he learn something new about health care, or just drift off of his message again? He visited three countries:

United Kingdom:
Health care costs as a percentage of GDP: 9.6%
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes: 80.6 years
Infant mortality, per 1,000 live births: 4.2

Israel:
Health care costs as a percentage of GDP: 7.9%
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes: 81.7 years
Infant mortality, per 1,000 live births: 3.7

Poland:
Health care costs as a percentage of GDP: 7.0%
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes: 76.3 years
Infant mortality, per 1,000 live births: 5.0

He returns to the United States:
Health care costs as a percentage of GDP: 17.6 percent
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes: 78.7 years
Infant mortality, per 1,000 live births: 6.1

What do you think Mitt will conclude after comparing these numbers?  How about you?