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David Gratzer: The truth about health care 'truths'
... This much is true: Americans live fewer years than people in Canada, Britain and France. But how long a person lives isn't simply about access to health care but reflects various factors: tobacco and alcohol use, genetics, diet, crime rates. Economist Robert Ohsfeldt and John Schneider observe that deaths from accidents and homicides in America are much higher than in any other developed country. Exclude these unintentional deaths from the statistics, and Americans come out on top in life expectancy.

If we measure a health care system by how well patients are treated, American health care excels – besting the European systems in 13 of 16 cancers and boasting better survival post-transplantations. ..