"BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD"

Um, maybe not...

Even insured kids don't get needed health care
Study: U.S. children receive right medical exams less than half the time
(AP) Updated: 1:59 p.m. MT Oct 10, 2007

As Washington debates children’s health insurance, a startling study finds that kids who regularly see doctors get the right care less than half the time — whether it’s preschool shots or chlamydia tests for teen girls.

Eight-two percent were covered by private insurance. Three-quarters were white, and all lived in or near large or midsized cities.

The study, by the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the nonprofit Rand Corp. research group, concludes that overall, doctors gave children the appropriate outpatient medical care only 47 percent of the time.

The compliance rate was even worse than that found in a study of adults: They got only 55 percent of recommended care.