U.S. Health Care Expensive And Underperforming: Study

We'll have to wait and see how well the United States men's soccer team fares now that they are in the knockout stages of international competition at the World Cup, but if there's one thing we can all take pride in is the fact that we are the Champions of Health Care! Top prize goes to the system that best combines mediocrity with stratospheric costs, right?

No? Well, that's bad news then, because according to a new study by the Commonwealth Foundation Fund that relieves health care reform proponents of having to cite outdated statistics from the World Health Organization, that's precisely the sort of health care we have. And it's all been rendered in handy-dandy chart form:

Ezra Klein notes: "The issue isn't just that we don't have universal health care. Our delivery system underperforms, too. 'Even when access and equity measures are not considered, the U.S. ranks behind most of the other countries on most measures. With the inclusion of primary care physician survey data in the analysis, it is apparent that the U.S. is lagging in adoption of national policies that promote primary care, quality improvement, and information technology.'"

Nonetheless, I expect no abatement in the tendency of anti-health care reform wags to bleat, "Bu-bu-but, the United States has the best health care in the world!" That's true, in the same way that José Andrés's Minibar has the best molecular cuisine in Washington, DC -- if your life depends on having it, you'd better have the financial security of Ezekiel Emanuel and Antonin Scalia.

Read the full report by clicking here.

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Comments

[rosana4065]

12:56 AM on 07/01/2010

A friend of mine told me about a site that offer 40% discount on health insurance.I tried this company.They are great.You can check their site.

http://www.MyBestHealthInsurance.Info

[ItzGid]

04:23 PM on 06/29/2010

The US has the best health care in the world only if one is discussing corporate health. They're getting along famously while the other 95% of the population) works to pay their way. If workers get sick and die, there'll be more to take their place.

[Marc NL]

02:53 PM on 06/25/2010

What I miss most in the U.S is an honest debate about healthcare.
Everything is so polarized and political, even something basic as healthcare.

Most people here (U.S) are so convinced of their “facts” that they simply don’t bother checking.

Most European countries are not afraid to admit that one country is better on one area and perhaps worse in another. Honesty just helps with improving faster. I would call it a healthy competition.

The U.S also excels in many areas. Speaking for myself I am grateful for the many good things the US has done for my country (the Netherlands)

The thing that bothers me most is the refusal of looking into the mirror once in a while and admit that there is room for improvement here and there.

Healthcare should be available to EVERYONE. Good healthcare for some doesn’t cut it for a country like the U.S.

[seeksthetruth]

01:45 PM on 06/25/2010

There are also a lot of “hidden” health care costs that aren’t factored into the US number. The costs we pay for goods and services are higher because health care insurance costs are factored in. Further, the cost we pay for auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance are higher because there is a medical component. Our system is extremely inefficient. It costs much more than it should and covers far fewer people than it should and has worse outcomes.

[jmpurser]

10:59 AM on 06/25/2010

The problem is the facts have been out for a long time. And our last bout of "health care reform" (quickly dumbed down to "health insurance reform") was a bit of street theater for the easily distracted. The only thing we accomplished was to make the current system a little bigger and a lot more expensive. We didn't fix ANY of the major areas where our system fails.

And we're being told to shut up and be happy because this is the "best we can do with a two party system". Well if the best the two party system can do is kill us while robbing us JUST MAYBE it's time to use a different system!

Find and support a third party or be part of the problem.

[lj9283]

11:38 AM on 06/25/2010

Sort of like how that Ralph Nader thingy worked out in 2000, huh?

[jmpurser]

12:44 PM on 06/25/2010

If you'll remember Gore picked LIEBERMAN as his veep. Gore kicked the left to the curb BEFORE the election. Obama learned the lesson and kicked us to the curb the DAY AFTER the election.

In either scenario the left loses just as much as when the GOP wins.

[seeksthetruth]

02:01 PM on 06/25/2010

The only way a three (or more) party system would work is if we had Instant Runoff Voting (ranked choice). This has been adopted in other countries and some US cities. For example, without IRV, if you have a Green Party candidate and a Democratic candidate, they basically split the votes among the Democratic voters and the Republican wins every time. That is why the GOP doesn’t want the Tea Party candidates to run separately encourages them to run as GOP candidates. We either have to work within the current two party system and infiltrate our party (like the Libertarian Tea Party and Neo-cons did in moving the GOP to the extreme right) by calling our congress people, the White House and showing up to local party meetings and making our voices be heard.

[jmpurser]

02:55 PM on 06/25/2010

The lefts voices are always "heard" right up until the day after the election. Then we get ignored until the next election.

If you're happy with that then keep voting Democratic. I'll vote green. From my perspective I will lose if either a Democrat or a Republican gets elected but at least I won't be kidding myself any longer.

[GrandmaBEE]

09:49 AM on 06/25/2010

Cardiologist #1 says I need quad bypass

Cardiologist #2,#3 (work together) say I need 1 stent, 1 vessel is just done and the other 2 are minor.

Teah, I go for the 1 stent. Wake up no stent, couldn't pull it off evidently. But had a stroke in my occipital lobe and lost half my vision in both eyes.

Now cardiologists #2, #3 recommend treating me with medications aggressivly.

On top of the $50,000 plus medical bills racked up for this I just got a letter from BCBS raising my premiums just under $50 per month.

Don't forget about the MRI, and the speacialists I now have to have because of my vision.

If these guys were machanics they wouldn't get away with this. And they told me I was lucky, it wasn't worse.

[blueken]

09:47 AM on 06/25/2010

Well, we can still say we are number one in cost. That's something.....isn't it? Chris Rock was on the Bill Maher show, and he said his mom got sick when he was poor, and she died. He said his father had a much more serious illness after he became rich. He recieved far better treatment and is alive and healthy. He said "If the American people ever saw the difference in health care between the wealthy and the average American, they would burn the f@#ing place down." So when you defend our present health care system, you are defending a club you will probably never get to join.

[Billyguitar]

09:35 AM on 06/25/2010

American Exceptionalism, yea right!!!!!!!!!!!! We excel at failing in some areas. I'm sure we pay more for military than any other country too.

Sorry, I like America but it could be so much better.

[wespenn56]

09:54 AM on 06/25/2010

Fanned. Don't apologize. The main problem with most "conservatives" is that they subscribe to the "rah, rah, we're the best, so no reason to change anything" attitude. While the US is a great nation, anyone with common sense can see things can be made better. If you're not moving forward, you're losing ground.

[3in1]

09:26 AM on 06/25/2010

The Commonwealth Fund is led by president Karen Davis her thugs, a nationally recognized progressive economist. Huffpro should make sure readers know this.

[barkingcat]

09:52 AM on 06/25/2010

"Thugs"?

That's a bit harsh, to say the least, given that a "thug" is a "common criminal who subjects others to rough treatment."

Do you have evidence of folks at the Commonwealth Fund using such tactics?

Sorry, but to borrow a notion from Marshall McLuhan, the way you say something is more important that what you have to say.

So, I discount your statement entirely because of your poor method of communicating it.

[Tommygun264]

10:15 AM on 06/25/2010

Oh, so now progressives are being labelled as "thugs"?

[Goodnews77]

09:09 AM on 06/25/2010

US Health Care System Ranks Worst In New Study
Think back to all of those criticisms of socialized health care systems that were buzzing around during the health care reform debate. We also still hear our politicians and media making the provably false claim that the United States has the best health care system in the World. However, when the Commonwealth Fund looked at health care systems in seven industrialized countries the results were [...]

http://silverbuzzcafe.com/?p=11982

[tangelan]

08:32 AM on 06/25/2010

Last again. Just like the GOP wants it. And that's 2007 data. It's higher now because we're still stoo pid.

[guveqzero]

07:18 AM on 06/25/2010

The US is champion at paying twice as much and receiving half the service. This, of course, is to maximize profits for our corporations.

[Chris Burgess]

04:18 AM on 06/25/2010

I am not surprised. I noticed one drug in the US sold for $99.00 in Australia the same drug sold for $5.95.

[DangerousDave]

06:22 AM on 06/25/2010

In Australia we have this thing called 'The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme'. If a perscription drug meets certain criteria, the government subsidizes some of the cost.

[tangelan]

08:29 AM on 06/25/2010

And what your government subsidizes Americans have to pay.

[icccarrus]

03:14 AM on 06/25/2010

Part of the reason that the U.S. ranks so low is because other countries don't put profits ahead of patients.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/17/business/fi-rescind17

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/demons-and-demonization/

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62G2DO20100317

[tangelan]

09:04 AM on 06/25/2010

And the sad part is that if we were a single payer system business could afford to hire more employees and not send our jobs abroad where businesses don't bare the burden of providing heathcare insurance for their employees. It's shocking to me that corporations don't push for this.

[HappyBalance]

01:09 AM on 06/25/2010

Not really news but hey the chart is nice.