VOA标准英语2013--研究表示美国人花在看病的钱比其他发达国家公民多

 

Studies: Americans Sicker than Citizens of Other Developed Countries 研究表示美国人花在看病的钱比其他发达国家公民多

WASHINGTON — Americans have the most expensive health care system in the world, although they don't have the most efficient one. Additionally, they don't get the most  for their money. That's the assessment¹ of two recent studies of health care in the U.S. Now, researchers paying more attention to where the money goes and what changes  can be made to improve health care.

U.S. health care costs have doubled in the last 30 years, but Americans are not necessarily healthier than they were in the 1980's. Hamilton Moses analyzed² the changes  and trends and published his findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“All of our information comes from publicly available sources. That’s a very important point. This is freely available information, although the challenge was to  compile it in a way that was interpretable,” said Moses.

The researchers found Americans spent between $2.5 trillion and $3 trillion dollars on health care in 2011, more than any other developed country. The report  highlights two major factors that are driving up costs. 

The first is that the price of medical and administrative³ services has gone up, along with the cost of drugs, procedures and devices.

Moses says Americans' love of technology is part of the problem.

"The U.S. has a technology bias⁴. We have a technology preference. We look to technology for the solution of all problems,” explained Moses.

The second factor is simple to identify, but more complex to address. Poor lifestyle habits, such smoking and over-eating, have resulted in epidemic⁵ levels of obesity⁶  and diabetes⁷ as well as heart disease, joint⁸ pain and lung diseases.  Managing chronic⁹ disease is expensive.

“We have not invested heavily in chronic care management or for that matter in health care service innovation nearly to the degree that we have in medical technology, ” said Moses.

Many of these diseases can be prevented though exercise, diet and maintaining a healthy weight, yet in the U.S. prevention has not historically been part of medical  care. Consulting with a nutritionist, either by phone or in person, or participating in wellness activities can be expensive, and those services are not normally  covered by health insurance.

“The overall amount of spending that occurs with people who have chronic illness is about 85 percent of the total,” said Moses.

Moses' research shows that those who spend the most on chronic disease are not elderly, and that their investment in care does not guarantee a long life. 

Meanwhile, a new report from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development shows that the U.S. spends between 250% to 300% of what other member nations  spend. Despite that, the United States trails other developed countries in life expectancy¹⁰, coming in at 26th place out of the 36 members of the organization. 

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

4 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。