US ranked worst, Australia ranked best in 2024 survey of healthcare systems

Americans live the sickest lives and die the youngest, according to a report by Commonwealth Fundan independent healthcare research company. Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of America’s Failing Health Care Systempublished on Thursday.

The United States ranked last in three of the five categories—equity, health outcomes, and access to care—in addition to having the worst overall ranking. The country fared slightly better in administrative performance, coming in ninth behind New Zealand. This is despite spending more than any other country included in the assessment.

“The United States is failing in one of its primary obligations as a nation: to protect the health and well-being of its people,” Dr. Joseph Betancourtchairman of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a prepared statement“The current situation—continually spending the most and getting the least for our health care dollars—is unsustainable. The problem is not a lack of resources—it is clearly how they are spent.”

The United States excelled only in one category called care process, which looks at safety, prevention, coordination and patient engagement. The United States’ second place, the report said, “was the result of successful delivery of preventive services, such as mammography And flu shotand emphasize patient safety.”

Mirror, Mirror used data collected between 2021 and 2023, with 70 metrics covering five categories. Respondents to the Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy Survey included primary care physicians, the general population of adults aged 18 and over, and a subset of people aged 65 and over. Additional data sources included World Health Organization and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Here are the 2024 rankings for each country, compared to previous rankings. 2021 report. Norway, which took the top spot three years ago, has dropped out of the International Health Policy Survey and is not included in this year’s rankings.

High-income countries have the best health care systems

1. Australia (up from 3rd place)
2. Netherlands (same)
3. UK (up from 4th place)
4. New Zealand (up from number 6)
5. France (up from 8)

High-income countries have the worst health care systems

6. Sweden (up from 7)
7. Canada (increased from number 10)
8. Switzerland (up from number 9)
9. Virtue (down from number 5)
10. WE (technically up from 11th place but still in last place)

The report notes that while overall performance differences between most countries are relatively small, the United States is the only exception with “significantly lower” performance.

Other health care ratings

• Access to the best care: Netherlands (similar)
• Poorest access to care: United States (similar)
• Best administrative efficiency: UK (formerly Norway)
• Least administrative efficiency: Switzerland (is the United States)
• Best care routine: New Zealand (similar)
• Worst care routine: Sweden (similar)
• Best Stocks: Australia (similar)
• Worst Stocks: United States (similar)
• Best health results: Australia (similar)
• Worst health consequences: United States (similar)

“Mirror, Mirror “It highlights the importance of international comparisons, providing evidence and inspiration for improving the U.S. health system,” Reginald Williams, the Commonwealth Foundation’s vice president for international policy and practice innovation, said in a prepared statement. “While other countries have successfully met the health care needs of their people, the U.S. health care system continues to lag significantly.

“This report shows that by adopting proven strategies and making smart investments, the United States can improve its health care system to better meet the needs of its people. There is no reason we can’t improve our standing if we choose to do so.”

How much does the United States spend on health care?

The country’s relatively high health care spending is nothing new, but the gap between U.S. spending and the other nine ranked countries has widened significantly.

Starting in 1980, US health care spending was 8.2% of gross domestic product (GDP); the UK had the lowest spending at 5.1%. By 2020, US spending had risen to a high of 18.6%. This figure dropped to 16.5% by 2022, while the remaining nine countries’ spending ranged from 9.8% (Australia) to 12.6% (Germany).

The report highlights the irony that the country that spends the most on health care, the United States, is also the country with the worst outcomes. Furthermore, the two countries with the best outcomes, Australia and the Netherlands, spend the least.

Hope Not Lost for US Health Care Reform

In this presidential election year, health care reform is a top concern for American voters on both sides of the political aisle, and Mirror, Mirror depicts the country’s problems in stark contrast.

Health insurance coverage The United States is fragmented—leaving 26 million Americans uninsured—while nine other countries boast universal coverage. Paying medical bills is a nightmare for many Americans, but the United Kingdom and Australia minimize the burden of payment. The United States has the highest preventable and treatable death rate at any age. Americans are expected to live four years less than the average of the 10 countries, in no small part because gun violence And substance abuse.

The list goes on. But the Commonwealth Fund researchers concluded that their findings offer more of a teachable moment than an insurmountable obstacle. In a News release In the report, they proposed a number of policy initiatives, including:

• Making health care more accessible and affordable by expanding health care coverage to the remaining uninsured and reforming coverage to meet minimum standards of adequacy, including limiting individual patient costs.
• Improving health equity by eliminating disparities in health care delivery and health outcomes received by low-income people, blacks, Latinos and indigenous people, women, and people living in rural areas. These populations often face discrimination and receive lower quality care.

“Too many Americans are living shorter, sicker lives because of this failure,” Betancourt said. “We need to build a health care system that is affordable and works for everyone. It’s time to take action to address this challenge.”

For more information about health care in the United States:

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