(Reuters) – Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries — Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found.
“As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it,” Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Previous reports by the nonprofit fund, which conducts research into healthcare performance and promotes changes in the U.S. system, have been heavily used by policymakers and politicians pressing for healthcare reform.
Davis said she hoped health reform legislation passed in March would lead to improvements.
The current report uses data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in seven countries in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It is available here
In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.
Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.
This is a big rise from the Fund’s last similar survey, in 2007, which found Americans spent $6,697 per capita on healthcare in 2005, or 16 percent of gross domestic product.
“We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality,” Schoen told reporters. “We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care.”
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I am sorry, just couldn’t let this one go without comment…the US has the BEST healthcare system in the world, bar none. This is why people from all over the world come here for lifesaving treatments. This biased report is from a leftist organization that thinks that socialized medicine is the way to go. Our system is not without its faults, and it costs a lot, but to say it ranks last against these six countries is hogwash. The US is where most of the cutting edge, lifesaving treatments, and new drug research is developed. One of the main reasons it is so expensive is too much government interference already. Private industry does much better than government, including with healthcare. Most Americans are pretty satisfied with their healthcare, and don’t want the government meddling more, like the European model, which is failing.
Tom, I couldn’t agree more! Well said.
Exactly right Tom! I work in the industry and when I read this article I was steamed! What a contrived load of crap.
If you objectively measure US healthcare, the results are not so good. Infant mortality, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are very high, so this contradicts what you are saying. Just because people come to the US for health treatment does not mean it is the best. There are many people in the US going to India and Costa Rica for surgery to save money and to get five star treatment.