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US health system ranks first on cost, last on quality: Study

Hasbara Buster

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US health system ranks first on cost, last on quality: Study

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The US has the most expensive health care system but it ranks last among 11 peer nations in quality, according to a study released Monday.

The United States ranks last in a new report that considers the efficiency and quality of healthcare systems in 11 industrialized nations.

The analysis by the Commonwealth Fund found that despite spending more money, the US healthcare system was the most inefficient and Americans have the hardest time affording care they need.

It said the US spent $8,508 per person on healthcare in 2011. By comparison, the United Kingdom spent only $3,406 per person and ranked higher than the US in providing safe and quality care.

Other countries that were ranked in the study include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The study was done before most of the new healthcare law was put into place.

“It is disappointing, but not surprising, that despite our significant investment in health care, the US has continued to lag behind other countries,” said Karen Davis, lead author and health researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “With enactment of the Affordable Care Act, however, we have entered a new era in American health care."

The study included surveys between 2011 and 2013 asking patients and physicians about their healthcare experiences. It also included a 2011 analysis of healthcare outcomes in the 11 industrialized countries.

The US ranked last on measures such as infant mortality and preventable deaths. It also ranked last on access to care based on affordability.

“The most notable way the US differs from other industrialized countries is the absence of universal health insurance coverage,” says the report. “Other nations ensure the accessibility of care through universal health systems and through better ties between patients and the physician practices that serve as their medical homes.”

However, authors of the study expect the US standing to improve because of ObamaCare. They say as the new healthcare law takes full effect more people will have access to healthcare, especially the poor. The Hill

PressTV - US health system ranks first on cost, last on quality: Study
 
The headline is misleading, because it's wrong. I've actually read the Commonwealth Study, and it doesn't rank the US last in quality of care. Out 11 industrialized nations, the United States places 5th in quality. The US admittedly still places last overall, but not in quality. That dubious honour goes to Norway and Sweden.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally - The Commonwealth Fund
The report is flawed. It puts the UK at #1. NHS at #1, what is wrong with these people?
 
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