[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 4, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1505-E1506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




JUST THE FACTS: THE CONTINUING SHAME OF THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 4, 1996

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, there was a lot of crowing at the Republican 
National Convention about the defeat of the effort in the 103d Congress 
to obtain health insurance for every American. Republicans talked a lot 
about letting the free market take care of the health insurance problem 
and how it was good that a Government solution had been rejected.
  Never mind the fact that the number of uninsured Americans, 
especially children, is rising about 1 million per year. Never mind the 
fact that almost all the other major industrialized nations of the 
world provide high quality health care to almost all their citizens yet 
have health inflation lower than ours. Following are the latest 
available figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development.
  The facts speak for themselves--and they should shame all of us.

   SHARE OF POPULATION COVERED BY PUBLIC (GOVERNMENT) HEALTH INSURANCE  
 SCHEME (COMPARABLE FIGURES FOR PRIVATE INSURANCE SCHEMES NOT AVAILABLE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Austria.........................    99.0    99.0    99.0    99.0    99.0
Belgium.........................    99.0    99.0    99.0    99.0    99.0
Canada..........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Czech Republic..................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Denmark.........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Finland.........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0

[[Page E1506]]

                                                                        
France..........................    99.5    99.5    99.5    99.5    99.5
Germany.........................    99.2    99.2    99.2    99.2    99.2
Greece..........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Hungary.........................     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
Iceland.........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Ireland.........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Italy...........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Japan...........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Luxembourg......................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Mexico..........................    55.8    64.0    64.4    67.0    68.0
Netherlands.....................    70.7    70.5    70.6    70.9    71.4
New Zealand.....................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Norway..........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Portugal........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Spain...........................    99.0    99.0    99.5    99.5    99.5
Sweden..........................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Switzerland.....................    99.5    99.5    99.5    99.5    99.5
Turkey..........................    55.1     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
United Kingdom..................   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
United States...................    44.0    44.0    44.0    44.0    45.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                  HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES: PRICE INDEX                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................   100.0   102.9   104.2   105.1     n/a
Austria.........................   100.0   105.7   114.2   121.1     n/a
Belgium.........................   100.0   106.8   112.2   115.0     n/a
Canada..........................   100.0   105.7   109.2   112.0   112.7
Czech Republic..................     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
Denmark.........................   100.0   102.7   104.9   107.5     n/a
Finland.........................   100.0   107.9   111.9   114.0     n/a
France..........................   100.0   102.1   104.3   106.4   108.3
Germany.........................   100.0   104.2   108.1   112.1   117.3
Greece..........................   100.0   129.1   149.0   167.4     n/a
Hungary.........................     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
Iceland.........................   100.0   106.5   113.8   123.0   126.0
Ireland.........................   100.0   107.1   114.2   120.5     n/a
Italy...........................   100.0   109.9   114.4   119.1     n/a
Japan...........................   100.0    93.3   103.5   106.8     n/a
Luxembourg......................   100.0   101.9   107.7   114.3     n/a
Mexico..........................     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
Netherlands.....................   100.0   105.2   108.9   110.8     n/a
New Zealand.....................   100.0   101.6   105.8   106.5     n/a
Norway..........................   100.0   103.6   107.6   108.5     n/a
Portugal........................   100.0   111.6   123.8   133.0     n/a
Spain...........................   100.0   106.1   113.8   114.3   124.1
Sweden..........................   100.0   103.5   109.0   112.0     n/a
Switzerland.....................   100.0   106.2   112.3   116.2   118.5
Turkey..........................   100.0     n/a     n/a     n/a     n/a
United Kingdom..................   100.0   108.2   117.4   124.3   127.4
United States...................   100.0   106.2   112.2   117.5   122.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                             GDP PRICE INDEX                            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                1990    1991     1992     1993     1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia....................   100.0   102.3   103.62    104.9    106.4
Austria......................   100.0   104.0   108.32    112.0    115.8
Belgium......................   100.0   102.7    106.3    110.6    113.6
Canada.......................   100.0   102.8    104.1    105.2   105.79
Czech Republic...............     n/a     n/a      n/a      n/a      n/a
Denmark......................   100.0   102.2    104.3    105.4    107.8
Finland......................   100.0   102.5    103.2    105.7    106.9
France.......................   100.0   103.3    105.4    108.1    109.6
Germany......................   100.0   104.7    105.5    109.4    112.0
Greece.......................   100.0   118.0    135.3    154.3    171.2
Hungary......................     n/a     n/a      n/a      n/a      n/a
Iceland......................   100.0   107.6    111.6    114.0    117.0
Ireland......................   100.0   101.7    103.8    108.0    109.3
Italy........................   100.0   107.7    112.5    117.3    121.5
Japan........................   100.0   102.6    104.1    104.7      n/a
Luxembourg...................   100.0   104.5    109.7    120.7    125.0
Mexico.......................   100.0   121.6    139.4    153.3    164.5
Netherlands..................   100.0   102.7    105.0    107.2    109.7
New Zealand..................   100.0   101.4    101.4    102.4    104.2
Norway.......................   100.0   102.6    102.2    104.8    105.1
Portugal.....................   100.0   114.2    129.6    139.3    146.5
Spain........................   100.0   107.1    114.4    119.4    124.0
Sweden.......................   100.0   107.6    108.8    111.7    115.0
Switzerland..................   100.0   105.5    108.2    110.4    111.9
Turkey.......................   100.0   158.8    260.1    436.3    900.8
United Kingdom...............   100.0   106.5    111.1    114.7    117.2
United States................   100.0   103.5    106.0   108.01    110.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               TOTAL HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURE SHARE OF GDP               
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................     8.3     8.6     8.7     8.6     8.5
Austria.........................     8.4     8.5     8.9     9.4     9.7
Belgium.........................     7.6     8.0     8.1     8.3     8.2
Canada..........................     9.2     9.9    10.3    10.2     9.8
Czech Republic..................     5.3     5.4     5.4     7.7     7.6
Denmark.........................     6.5     6.5     6.7     6.8     6.6
Finland.........................     8.0     9.1     9.3     8.8     8.3
France..........................     8.9     9.1     9.4     9.8     9.7
Germany.........................     8.3     9.0     9.3     9.3     9.5
Greece..........................     4.3     4.3     4.5     4.6     5.2
Hungary.........................     6.6     6.6     6.8     6.9     7.0
Iceland.........................     7.9     8.1     8.2     8.3     8.1
Ireland.........................     6.7     7.0     7.3     7.4     7.9
Italy...........................     8.1     8.4     8.5     8.6     8.3
Japan...........................     6.0     6.1     6.4     6.6     6.9
Luxembourg......................     6.2     6.2     6.3     6.2     5.8
Mexico..........................     n/a     n/a     4.9     5.0     5.3
Netherlands.....................     8.4     8.6     8.8     9.0     8.8
New Zealand.....................     7.4     7.8     7.8     7.3     7.5
Norway..........................     6.9     7.2     7.4     7.3     7.3
Portugal........................     6.6     7.1     7.2     7.4     7.6
Spain...........................     6.9     7.1     7.2     7.3     7.3
Sweden..........................     8.6     8.4     7.6     7.6     7.7
Switzerland.....................     8.4     9.0     9.4     9.5     9.6
Turkey..........................     2.9     3.4     2.9     2.6     4.2
United Kingdom..................     6.0     6.5     7.0     6.9     6.9
United States...................    12.7    13.5    14.0    14.3    14.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                      MALE LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH                     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................    73.9    74.4    74.5    75.0    75.0
Austria.........................    72.4    72.4    72.7    73.0    73.3
Belgium.........................    72.4    72.8    73.1    73.0     n/a
Canada..........................    73.8    74.6    74.9     n/a     n/a
Czech Republic..................    67.5    68.2    68.5    69.3    69.5
Denmark.........................    72.0    72.2    72.4    72.3     n/a
Finland.........................    70.9    71.4    71.7    72.1    72.8
France..........................    72.7    72.9    73.2    73.3    73.7
Germany.........................    72.7    72.5    73.8    73.8     n/a
Greece..........................    74.6    74.7    74.6    74.9     n/a
Hungary.........................    65.1    65.0    64.6    64.5    64.8
Iceland.........................    75.7    75.1    75.7    76.9    77.1
Ireland.........................    72.0    72.2    72.6    72.7     n/a
Italy...........................    73.5    73.6    73.8    74.5    74.7
Japan...........................    75.9    76.1    76.1    76.3    76.6
Luxembourg......................    72.3    72.0    71.9    72.2     n/a
Mexico..........................    67.7    68.4    68.9    69.2    69.4
Netherlands.....................    73.8    74.1    74.3    74.0    74.6
New Zealand.....................    72.4    72.9    73.1     n/a     n/a
Norway..........................    73.4    74.0    74.1    74.2    74.8
Portugal........................    70.9    69.8    70.8    70.8    71.2
Spain...........................    73.4    73.4    73.4    73.3    73.3
Sweden..........................    74.8    74.9    75.4    75.5    76.1
Switzerland.....................    74.0    74.1    74.3    74.7    75.1
Turkey..........................    64.1     n/a     n/a    63.3    65.4
United Kingdom..................    72.9    73.2    73.6    73.6    74.2
United States...................    71.8    72.0    72.3    72.2    72.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                     FEMALE LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH                    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................    80.1    80.4    80.4    80.9    80.9
Austria.........................    78.9    79.1    79.2    79.4    79.7
Belgium.........................    79.1    79.5    79.8    79.8     n/a
Canada..........................    80.4    80.9    81.2     n/a     n/a
Czech Republic..................    76.0    75.7    76.1    76.4    76.6
Denmark.........................    77.7    77.7    77.8    77.6     n/a
Finland.........................    78.9    79.3    79.4    79.5    80.2
France..........................    80.9    81.1    81.4    81.4    81.8
Germany.........................    79.1    79.0    79.3    79.3     n/a
Greece..........................    79.4    79.7    79.6    79.9     n/a
Hungary.........................    73.7    73.8    73.7    73.8    74.2
Iceland.........................    80.3    80.8    80.9    80.8    81.0
Ireland.........................    77.5    77.7    78.2    78.2     n/a
Italy...........................    80.0    80.2    80.4    80.9    81.2
Japan...........................    81.9    82.1    82.2    82.5    83.0
Luxembourg......................    78.5    79.1    78.5    79.4     n/a
Mexico..........................    74.0    74.7    75.2    75.4    75.8
Netherlands.....................    80.1    80.2    80.3    80.0    80.3
New Zealand.....................    78.3    78.7    78.9     n/a     n/a
Norway..........................    79.8    80.1    80.3    80.2    80.6
Portugal........................    77.9    77.3    78.1    78.0    78.2
Spain...........................    80.4    80.6    80.7    80.9    81.0
Sweden..........................    80.4    80.5    80.8    80.8    81.4
Switzerland.....................    80.9    80.9    81.2    81.4    81.6
Turkey..........................    68.4     n/a     n/a    66.0    70.0
United Kingdom..................    78.6    78.7    79.0    78.9    79.5
United States...................    78.8    78.9    79.1    78.8    79.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                  INFANT MORTALITY RATE/100 LIVE BIRTHS                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1990    1991    1992    1993    1994 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia.......................    0.82    0.71    0.70    0.61    0.59
Austria.........................    0.78    0.75    0.75    0.65    0.63
Belgium.........................    0.80    0.84    0.82    0.80    0.76
Canada..........................    0.68    0.64    0.63    0.68     n/a
Czech Republic..................    1.08    1.04    0.99    0.85    0.79
Denmark.........................    0.75    0.73    0.66    0.54    0.56
Finland.........................    0.56    0.58    0.52    0.44    0.46
France..........................    0.73    0.73    0.68    0.64    0.58
Germany.........................    0.71    0.67    0.60    0.58    0.56
Greece..........................    0.97    0.90    0.84    0.85    0.79
Hungary.........................    1.50    1.60    1.40    1.30    1.20
Iceland.........................    0.59    0.55    0.48    0.48    0.34
Ireland.........................    0.82    0.82    0.66    0.59    0.59
Italy...........................    0.82    0.81    0.79    0.73    0.66
Japan...........................    0.46    0.44    0.45    0.43    0.42
Luxembourg......................    0.74    0.92    0.85    0.60    0.53
Mexico..........................    2.40    2.10    1.90    1.75    1.70
Netherlands.....................    0.71    0.65    0.63    0.63    0.56
New Zealand.....................    0.84    0.83    0.73    0.73     n/a
Norway..........................    0.70    0.64    0.59    0.51    0.52
Portugal........................    1.10    1.08    0.93    0.87    0.81
Spain...........................    0.76    0.72    0.71    0.68    0.60
Sweden..........................    0.60    0.61    0.53    0.48    0.44
Switzerland.....................    0.68    0.62    0.64    0.56    0.51
Turkey..........................    5.93    5.65    5.40    5.26    4.68
United Kingdom..................    0.79    0.74    0.66    0.63    0.62
United States...................    0.92    0.89    0.85    0.84    0.79
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                  

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