Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(160,218 posts)
2. You have a lot to learn about how the Cuban health system works.
Mon Jun 27, 2016, 07:31 AM
Jun 2016

Why on earth do you imagine Cuban people have such amazing health statistics, the highest in Latin America?

Because their "good medicine" is going to the parties you've posted?

We have DU posters who've both gone to tourist doctors in Cuba, and to domestic doctors, when taken by their friends in emergencies. Both services got glowing reviews.

Please don't try to post things like that you can't back up with legitimate sources. People here do research what they don't know, and there are MANY who have known the truth about Cuba, either from research, or from in person discovery.

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Please take a moment to scan the Vital Statistics from the United Nations on the Cuba Report:

Statistics

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cuba_statistics.html

Please compare them with those of the United States:

Statistics

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/usa_statistics.html

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
May 20, 2014
American Health Care: a Cuban Fix

by Mateo Pimentel

Despite the fact that the US altogether spends arguably more on public health than any other economic force in the West, next to nothing about its healthcare system is democratic. Like most everything else, this industry, or market sector, only exists to serve profit motive. Any ostensibly beneficial components, which might appear to favor the marginalized, are little more than the usual rotten fruits of a welfare capitalism that keeps the poor, working class divided against itself. As the system grows more and more costly, the rich get richer and the poor invariably continue to suffer. Ultimately, radically democratic change in American healthcare is necessary to fix the problem, and Cuba holds the answer.

. . .

A country like Cuba cannot afford to allow private enterprises to milk public pockets, nor does it want that for itself. Cuba has invoked a radically democratic means to ensure public health standards rise rather than fall in earnest. The result? Cuban healthcare far exceeds that of the US, and it does a far better job treating its body politic than America does her own. The fact is that Cuban healthcare is second to none. So, Americans should choose to learn from Cuba’s example, rather than falling victim to the systematized rhetoric that claims all things Cuban, and therefore all things communist, are inherently evil and of no use to them. Actually looking to some of the key components of Cuba’s sustainably democratic model would save the US populace both money and lives. The following are a six Cuban methods which the American people should adopt – forcefully, if necessary – in order to make healthcare cheaper, more democratic, and universal for all people living within the US.

Access

In order to shrink the existing disparity in its people’s healthcare, Cuba endeavored for complete accessibility. Increased accessibility thus led to the adoption of a universal system, one which yielded unprecedented levels of healthcare for all Cubans. By 1999, Cuba boasted one doctor per every 175 Cubans. With greater access and a new system predicated on it, new medical jobs were also created around the country.

Ingenuity and Innovation

Cuban policy allocates large amounts of funding to research. A poorer nation than the US, Cuba actually strives to comply with World Health Organization recommendations: Cuba funds a percentage of all health-related costs, as well a portion of its research and training programs. This is also born out of necessity; due to the US and its embargo-driven transgressions against the poor island nations, many vaccinations had to be developed in-house, rather than traded-for, with other nations. Still, Cuba has funded many break-through revolutions in the medical field. The US needs to have at least the same policy toward funding its medical research.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/20/american-health-care-a-cuban-fix/

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»Poverty Doesn’t Stop Cuba...»Reply #2