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Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

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21–30 of 82 posts

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#21
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the public healthcare system in Spain, while still great compared to most of the world, is a shadow of what it once was, with the rampant privatization done by the Government in the last decade. A really sad situation. That being said, decent private healthcare here is about 100€/month, so while private healthcare is still considered "a luxury" (because public one is pretty good), it's still very very far fro…

Rampant privatization? Spain's public healthcare expenditure[1] was: 38.552 €bn in 2002, and 66.678 €bn in 2016 (latest official year), this is a 73% increase in 14 years. On other hand while population was 41.31 m in 2002, and 46.48 m in 2016, A 13% increase. This is a 53% net increase in expenditure per capita. I'm curious to know what "rampant privatization" to you means, as government/public expenditure has by no…

I'm curious to know what "rampant privatization" to you means, as government/public expenditure has by no means slowed down, quite the contrary.

I don't know about Spain, but at least in Sweden there's an argument that the increase in privatization in the health care sector has resulted in higher costs (and thus higher government expenditure) without matching improvement in heath care outcomes.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#22
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the public healthcare system in Spain, while still great compared to most of the world, is a shadow of what it once was, with the rampant privatization done by the Government in the last decade. A really sad situation. That being said, decent private healthcare here is about 100€/month, so while private healthcare is still considered "a luxury" (because public one is pretty good), it's still very very far fro…

Rampant privatization? Spain's public healthcare expenditure[1] was: 38.552 €bn in 2002, and 66.678 €bn in 2016 (latest official year), this is a 73% increase in 14 years. On other hand while population was 41.31 m in 2002, and 46.48 m in 2016, A 13% increase. This is a 53% net increase in expenditure per capita. I'm curious to know what "rampant privatization" to you means, as government/public expenditure has by no…

[deleted]

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#23
post #20
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Number 40 on this list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cigarette...

What's going on with Luxembourg? 6330.9 cigarettes, per person, per year (which is over six times the US consumption). And, they're ranked still 11th on the Bloomberg list.

Cigarette taxes? Maybe they are lower there, so people buy them to sell in other countries?

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#24
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the public healthcare system in Spain, while still great compared to most of the world, is a shadow of what it once was, with the rampant privatization done by the Government in the last decade. A really sad situation. That being said, decent private healthcare here is about 100€/month, so while private healthcare is still considered "a luxury" (because public one is pretty good), it's still very very far fro…

Rampant privatization? Spain's public healthcare expenditure[1] was: 38.552 €bn in 2002, and 66.678 €bn in 2016 (latest official year), this is a 73% increase in 14 years. On other hand while population was 41.31 m in 2002, and 46.48 m in 2016, A 13% increase. This is a 53% net increase in expenditure per capita. I'm curious to know what "rampant privatization" to you means, as government/public expenditure has by no…

Are those numbers inflation-adjusted?

Raw expenditure tells us nothing about whether or not it has been privatised, too. Often the privatised services are more expensive - after all, they have to pay dividends.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spanish healthcare is among the best in the world despite the problems. Also, quite bold calling propaganda a report from United Nations analyzing population health. What do other problems the country has have to do with the people health? Maybe your comment contains some propaganda too.

I think you misundertood my comment. Propaganda is what is done in Spain to make people look at fake problems instead of the real ones. I don't think this report is propaganda.

I know you are not saying the report is propaganda, but I understand you mean appearing in media is.

What I am saying is that besides the intention of the article (which is Bloomberg giving UN results) these are facts.

Seeing this facts stated might help others and it does not mean stop fighting for other causes in the country.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#26
post #24
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rampant privatization? Spain's public healthcare expenditure[1] was: 38.552 €bn in 2002, and 66.678 €bn in 2016 (latest official year), this is a 73% increase in 14 years. On other hand while population was 41.31 m in 2002, and 46.48 m in 2016, A 13% increase. This is a 53% net increase in expenditure per capita. I'm curious to know what "rampant privatization" to you means, as government/public expenditure has by no…

Are those numbers inflation-adjusted? Raw expenditure tells us nothing about whether or not it has been privatised, too. Often the privatised services are more expensive - after all, they have to pay dividends.

1. the numbers are government healthcare expenditure, not private healthcare expenditure

2. CPI won't change a the bottom line take-away. Feel free to run the numbers.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#28

Wow, that's surprising to me because of smoking alone. When I lived there briefly in the early 90s, it seemed like everyone smoked. I wonder if that's changed dramatically or is just drowned out by other metrics...

This seems to have massively changed all over Europe. When I was a kid in the 90s you could go into bars that were foggy with smoke. TV characters would do it. Nowadays it's generally not cool anymore, it's seen as a vice and people will sdmit so when they ask if it's okay.

The laws changed and smoking inside public spaces was all but abolished. There are still holdouts in the countries that passed these laws more recently but the trend is clear and it's acceleration.

I also noticed that one big factor that actually worked in discouraging teens from even starting is the "uncool" image built around smoking.

Unfortunately it look like the coolness factor is moving to electronic cigarettes and there's not much data to discourage the use yet.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#29

There’s something wrong with the methodology here when Cuba is ranked higher than the US. People are starving in Cuba, with no health care...

Why do you assume the problem is with the methodology of the study?

Cuba has a longer life expectancy than US.

As a European, I'd say there's something wrong with US approach to health: people living under a dictatorship in a poor country have better health than Americans.

Re: Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index – 2019 edition

#30

There’s something wrong with the methodology here when Cuba is ranked higher than the US. People are starving in Cuba, with no health care...

Plenty of people in the US do not have health care either.

Meanwhile, Cuba actually has a very high number of doctors per capita.

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