U.S. health care system ranks last among 11 wealthy countries, report finds
Despite spending more on health care than any other country in the world, the U.S. health care system lags far behind many other high-income nations recently analyzed.
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund found that among 11 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. ranks last.
“We ranked last when it comes to care, affordability, administrative inefficiency, equity, and health care outcomes,” David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said on a press call. “In no other country does income inequality so profoundly limit access to care as it does here.”
The countries ranking ahead of the U.S. were Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Canada. (These countries, chosen due to existing partnerships with the Commonwealth Fund, have been featured in this annual report since 2004.)
“Other countries have much better primary care than we do in the United States,” Blumenthal said. “They invest more in primary care and social services than we do, and they have health systems that are more equitable.”
The main categories used to determine the rankings were access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes. The U.S. ranked last in every category except for care process.
Spending the most on health care does not mean having the best health care
The American health care system is no stranger to criticism.
Health care spending in the U.S. has grown rapidly since 1980, significantly quicker than in other nations. In 2019, national health expenditures increased to $3.8 trillion, which accounted for 17.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).
“One might think that such a high level of spending would enable the U.S. to achieve the best-performing health care system,” Eric Snyder, senior vice president for policy and research at the Commonwealth Fund, said. “Our results suggest that isn’t true.”
Care process was the only category in which the U.S. excelled, which Snyder attributed to provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These include services like counseling for diet, tobacco, and alcohol; preventative services including vaccinations and mammograms for older adults; documentation of patients’ preferences for care; and the availability of technology for patients to use to communicate with their providers.
“Overall, of our $4 trillion in U.S. health expenditures, we spend less than 3% on public health, 5% on preventative services, and 6-7% on primary care,” Dr. Anand Parekh, chief medical advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told Yahoo Finance. “If we really want to improve population health, we must invest in these three areas.”