Current Events > New report ranks US dead last in health care among richest countries

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https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/566715-stunning-new-report-ranks-us-dead-last-in-healthcare

The U.S. health care system ranked last among 11 wealthy countries despite spending the highest percentage of its gross domestic product on health care, according to an analysis by the Commonwealth Fund.

Researchers behind the report surveyed tens of thousands of patients and doctors in each country and used data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report considered 71 performance measures that fell under five categories: access to care, the care process, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes. Countries analyzed in the report include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

Norway, the Netherlands and Australia were the top-performing countries overall, with the U.S. coming in dead last.

The U.S. ranked last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes despite spending 17 percent of GDP on health care, but came in second on the measures of care process metric. The nation performed well in rates of mammography screening and influenza vaccination for older Americans, as well as the percentage of adults who talked with their physician about nutrition, smoking and alcohol use.

Half of lower-income U.S. adults in the report said costs prevented them from receiving care while just more than a quarter of high-income Americans said the same. In comparison, just 12 percent of lower-income residents in the U.K. and 7 percent with higher incomes said costs stopped them from getting care.

The U.S. also had the highest infant mortality rate and lowest life expectancy at age 60 compared with other countries.

Researchers said several key factors set the high-performing nations apart from the U.S.: universal coverage, the removal of cost barriers, investment in care systems to reduce inequities and investing in social services for children and working-age adults.

If health care were an Olympic sport, the U.S. might not qualify in a competition with other high-income nations, Eric Schneider, the lead author behind the report and senior vice president for policy and research at the Commonwealth Fund, told Changing America.

The U.S. has two health care systems. For Americans with the means and insurance to have a regular doctor and reported experiences with their day-to-day care are relatively good, but for those who lack access, the consequences are stark, Schneider said.

The poor performance is nothing new, as the U.S. has landed in last place in all seven studies the Commonwealth Fund has released since 2004.

The headline on this site says "Stunning new report" but that seems like editorializing to me.


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America hospitals is full of malpractice.

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Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

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Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

are we richer then those other 10 countries?

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I mean.... duh?

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Not surprised.

Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

But you should expect much better from a very rich first world country, especially one that prides itself as being "the greatest country on Earth".

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We did it!

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Dark_SilverX posted...

America hospitals is full of malpractice.

medical malpractice, ethical malpractice, moral malpractice and billing malpractice.

theyre a joke, and they were once the standard of the world

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So you're saying it's working as intended then?

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monkmith posted...

are we richer then those other 10 countries?

Probably, but 11th out of 195 isnt bad

Solar_Crimson posted...

Not surprised.

But you should expect much better from a very rich first world country, especially one that prides itself as being "the greatest country on Earth".

Sure, but in a truly utopian paradise we wouldnt need police or prisons or jobs or anything

Being rich =\= being the best, and I never claimed it did

My claim is that being 11th out of 195 is pretty good

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big surprise

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Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

Considering that we have been the dominant power for a century or so, claim to be the world's greatest nation, have the largest GDP despite there being a few countries with larger populations and also spend the most per capita on healthcare...yeah it is.

We are the wealthiest, and spend more for a lesser return.

If our Healthcare system was a CEO of a company it would be sacked and probably face criminal charges.

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Duh. There's a reason I will never, ever claim this country is "#1" or "The best"...... we aren't even close. And yes, if I could leave the country, trust me, I would.

I'm just happy to live in Massachusetts. The state responsible for actually keeping the US above the non-rich countries in healthcare.

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Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

You're spending vast amounts more for a significantly worse product. It's not "a little bit worse" but dramatically worse by a shocking amount.

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Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

It does when we outspend the ten countries above us. And while only 11 countries are measured in this study, would you be so certain that we're doing better than Japan or South Korea, or Finland or Denmark?

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America: Break a leg falling down the stairs in your home; get an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital.
Medical bill: Several thousand dollars.

Nordic country: Break a leg while hiking in the wilderness; get airlifted by helicopter to the hospital in the capital city.
Medical bill: About 50.

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pikachupwnage posted...

A bunch of weird, random shit

If you think being number 11 out of 195 is bad, then youre just being dishonest

Youre real argument should be No, its not. But it could and should definitely be better, which I agree with

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Intro2Logic posted...

It does when we outspend the ten countries above us. And while only 11 countries are measured in this study, would you be so certain that we're doing better than Japan or South Korea, or Finland or Denmark?

11 out of 195 in no situation is bad though, unless youre talking about it in the reverse or something

It definitely could be better though

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I forget who but I remember somebody used to come into these topics and say "these studies focus too much on poor people. The richest get better Healthcare than the richest of other countries!"

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Samurontai posted...

11 out of 195 in no situation is bad though

We're 11 out of 11. This study does not measure how many of the other 184 are producing better outcomes.

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absolutely insane that the largest economy on earth still doesn't have a good centralized system of health care deliverance, I really don't know how you even defend it and it feeds many many other societal problems across our various American communities.

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Intro2Logic posted...

We're 11 out of 11. This study does not measure how many of the other 184 are producing better outcomes.

Well at that point the argument isnt even whos healthcare is better, its just an argument of Are EU countries better than America which I think most people would agree that, yes in a lot of ways they are lol

Its just a weird ranking system imo

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Samurontai posted...

My claim is that being 11th out of 195 is pretty good

We're doing worse than some of those other countries as well.

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Sam im a leftist I swear I just constantly spout center-right talking points like a Broseph-lite urontai

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Solar_Crimson posted...

We're doing worse than some of those other countries as well.

Yep, Id still argue that 22 out of 195 isnt bad

Could be better though

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coolboy11 posted...

absolutely insane that the largest economy on earth still doesn't have a good centralized system of health care deliverance,

most of the nations in this study don't have a centralized system

Shezarr posted...

Sam im a leftist I swear I just constantly spout center-right talking points like a Broseph-lite urontai

Samurontai posted...

Well at that point the argument isnt even whos healthcare is better, its just an argument of Are EU countries better than America which I think most people would agree that, yes in a lot of ways they are lol

Its just a weird ranking system imo

Yes, definitely a center right talking point, that most European countries are better than America

Also, I never claimed to be a leftist

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Samurontai posted...

If you think being number 11 out of 195 is bad, then youre just being dishonest

Youre real argument should be No, its not. But it could and should definitely be better, which I agree with

The study didn't measure the other 184 countries you know.

Also being better then others doesn't even mean you are good or even acceptable.


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pikachupwnage posted...

The study didn't measure the other 184 countries you know.

Also being better then others doesn't even mean you are good or even acceptable.

Yeah I know, if it did wed be 22 out of 195. Which still isnt bad tbh. Definitely could and should be better though


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And yet it's the one where the wealthiest go for their healthcare.

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SevenTenths posted...

And yet it's the one where the wealthiest go for their healthcare.

Pretty sure most healthcare rankings like this take into account inequality as while as quality

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TheRadiant posted...

We did it!

We're number none! We're number none!

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SevenTenths posted...

And yet it's the one where the wealthiest go for their healthcare.

because they can get care that our actual citizens cant, yes.

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SevenTenths posted...

And yet it's the one where the wealthiest go for their healthcare.

Now, what about our poorer citizens with whom getting sudden healthcare can bankrupt them?

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Imagine you have a race team. You have far more money and resources to spend on your car than anyone else in the field. And yet 10 teams that have decent, but not amazing funding are blowing you out of the water. Can you really say you ran well because you beat the rest of the field? They had no chance of winning and are just happy the wheels didn't fall off.

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hockeybub89 posted...

Imagine you have a race team. You have far more money and resources to spend on your car than anyone else in the field. And yet 10 teams that have decent, but not amazing funding are blowing you out of the water. Can you really say you ran well because you beat the rest of the field? They had no chance of winning and are just happy the wheels didn't fall off.

I think the Nina Turner Ohio run would be a better example, but I get your drift sure

This is literally just semantics though at this point, but I can accept your view. Sure, ranking 11 out of 11 while being the wealthiest probably isnt good.

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I am on VA healthcare. Can confirm, it's terrible. Tricare (active duty medical insurance) was miles better.

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Yeah, well, we're still #1 in guns, monster truckin', and BIG ol tiddies so suck it Norway

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This is essentially a report mocking the worst of the best.

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Solar_Crimson posted...

Now, what about our poorer citizens with whom getting sudden healthcare can bankrupt them?

If only there was some candidate who was running for president who wanted medicare for all that the Democrats didnt ensure wouldn't get the nomination by having all of bidens opponents drop out just before super Tuesday so he could win some pluralities.

Oh well only Joe could beat trump. Comcast said so. Then once he won they added data caps to every state they're in. No relation of course just a coincidence.

Most medical processes come from American hospitals. Most medical drugs come from American pharmaceuticals. The best doctors are american doctors.

But both parties are happy to line health insurance companies pockets to ensure you get fucked. It's not the Democrats fault the Republicans wouldn't let them pass single payer system...with their all of 0 votes for the abomination that is aca. It's not the Republicans fault, those darn Democrats just won't let the free market do it's thing to lower cost!

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I am shocked

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Sayoria posted...

And yes, if I could leave the country, trust me, I would.

What's stopping you?

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Heres a $500 tylenol.

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KamenRiderBlade posted...

What's stopping you?

Money, family, my inability to drive, and barriers to entry.

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Samurontai posted...

Last in 11th place doesnt seem that bad being there are nearly 200 hundred countries in the world

Exactly. Furthermore, do you know how much of the known universe has no breathable air? We should consider ourselves lucky.

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In retrospect, letting insurance companies basically form policies as they want was probably a bad idea.

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Sayoria posted...

my inability to drive

What is stopping you from learning how to drive?

Driving is a universal skill that anybody can achieve.

There really isn't any reason that you can't achieve what the vast majority of Americans already have.

Sayoria posted...

barriers to entry.

You got to learn the local language and have job ready skills.

That applies to all countries BTW, US is not special in that regard.
Every country has other requirements before they grant you a "Work Visa" or allow citizenship.

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dotsdfe posted...

In retrospect, letting insurance companies basically form policies as they want was probably a bad idea.

No kidding.

Letting Big Pharma, Health Insurance Companies, Hospitals, Medical Product providers, etc. write the rules willy nilly has made things unaffordable.

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Antifar posted...

The headline on this site says "Stunning new report" but that seems like editorializing to me.

Not sure why the headline says that considering the article itself states, "The poor performance is nothing new, as the U.S. has landed in last place in all seven studies the Commonwealth Fund has released since 2004."

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I love all these totally scholarly and unbiased lists

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