It causes people to go bankrupt

Researchers say 50% of filing caused by medical bills; most who file are insured middle class.

The average bankrupt person surveyed had spent $13,460 on co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services if they had private insurance. People with no insurance spent an average of $10,893 for such out-of-pocket expenses. (The researchers got the permission of bankruptcy judges in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas to survey 931 people who filed for bankruptcy. - http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1439)

So, do these people also go bankrupt when they buy a new car for $20,000?

Topic 2 - We have some of the largest "Child Death Rates"

Out of 44 more developed countries, the United States is tied for 26th place with Croatia, Estonia and Poland. In all three countries there are 7 child deaths per 1,000 live births.

But, according to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/children.htm, is there anything we can do about these things:

Mortality 1-4 years of age

* Number of deaths: 4,631
* Deaths per 100,000 population: 28.4
* Leading causes of death
o Accidents (unintentional injuries)
o Congenital malformations (ie: birth defects)

We spend too much on Health Care Costs

How about these comments?

"Indeed, perhaps the most significant reason Americans are drowning in health care debt may shock you: Americans are getting far too much unnecessary care. Of our total $2.3 trillion health care bill last year, a whopping $500 billion to $700 billion was spent on treatments, tests, and hospitalizations that did nothing to improve our health. Even worse, new evidence suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us. According to estimates by Elliott Fisher, M.D., a noted Dartmouth researcher, unnecessary care leads to the deaths of as many as 30,000 Medicare recipients annually."- http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/health_care_costs.html

"50% - Portion of surgeries, tests, and procedures that are not backed by scientific evidence" - http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/health_care_costs.html

48 Million Uninsured - What a Crisis

You might be surprised to discover that 38% of all the uninsured — that's almost 18 million people — have incomes higher than $50,000 a year. An astounding 20% of all uninsured have incomes over $75,000. These are people who can afford coverage.

Drilling even deeper, one finds that fully 27% of all the uninsured in the U.S. — that's 12.6 million people — aren't even citizens.

As TV journalist John Stossel recently noted, as many as a third of all those eligible for public health programs don't even bother to apply.

Well, wouldn't you think that minus the illegals, and ones who just don't want coverage, we have more like 20 million?

 

Some FACTS:

Math - By grade 4, American students only score in the middle of 26 countries reported. By grade 8 they are in the bottom third, and at the finish line, where it really counts, we're near dead last.

Science - 3rd place for 4th grade, 17th for 8th Grade, and 16th for 12th grade.

Yet, we are on the top of the list for Civics.

But what about the programs we have?

No Child Left Behind

After six years, there is overwhelming evidence that the deeply flawed “No Child Left Behind” law (NCLB) is doing more harm than good in our nation’s public schools. - http://www.fairtest.org/NCLB-After-Six-Years

Title I

The $7 billion per year program for poor and low achieving students.

Even Start

Supports projects to improve educational opportunities for children and their parents in low-income areas by integrating early childhood education, adult education, and parenting education into "family literacy" programs. However, three separate national evaluations of the program reached the same conclusion: children and adults participating in Even Start generally made no greater literacy gains than non-participants. - http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget09/summary/edlite-section3.html#even