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<DIV><B>From:</B> <A title=ruglucia@PAHO.ORG
href="mailto:ruglucia@PAHO.ORG">Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV> <A title=EQUIDAD@LISTSERV.PAHO.ORG
href="mailto:EQUIDAD@LISTSERV.PAHO.ORG">EQUIDAD@LISTSERV.PAHO.ORG</A>
</DIV></DIV>
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<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Arial color=#993300 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #993300; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">U.S.</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:country-region><B><FONT
face=Arial color=#993300 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #993300; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
Health System Performance: A National Scorecard<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><I><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place> would have to improve its performance on
key indicators by 50 percent or more to reach benchmark
rates.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Cathy Schoen,
Karen Davis, Sabrina K. H. How, and Stephen C. Schoenbaum<BR><EM><B><I><FONT
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Health
Affairs</SPAN></FONT></I></B></EM><STRONG><B><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
</SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG><STRONG><B><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">25 (2006) - 20 September
2006</SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG><STRONG><B><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
</SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG><STRONG><B><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><I><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">New
Scorecard Says That Much Improvement Is Needed in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Health Care System<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Available online at:
<A
href="http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.25.w457/DC1"><FONT
color=#333399><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333399">http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.25.w457/DC1</SPAN></FONT></A>
<BR></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
“……Despite spending 16 percent of its gross domestic product on health care --
double the median for industrialized nations -- the U.S. remains the only
industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee universal coverage.
It is not a leader in the adoption of health information technology, and it
achieves neither the best outcomes nor the best quality of care when compared to
other nations.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> The total
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> average score across all
categories was 66 out of a possible 100….”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><B><FONT face=Arial color=#333399 size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">“…..The
scorecard equity findings</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial color=#333399
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> are
consistent with recent reports showing significant and sometimes increasing
disparities by income, insurance, and race/ethnicity.<SUP><A
href="http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.25.w457/DC1#28#28"><FONT
color=#333399><SPAN style="COLOR: #333399">28</SPAN></FONT></A></SUP> These
three risk factors often coexist: Minorities are more likely than whites to have
low incomes, and those with low incomes are more likely than those with higher
incomes to be uninsured or underinsured….”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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