U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System Performance Measures (2024)

FAQs

U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System Performance Measures? ›

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared with six other industrialized countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and the ability to lead long, healthy, ...

People in the US see doctors less often than those in most other countries, which is probably related to the US having a below-average number of practicing physicians, according to the report, and the US is the only country among those studied that doesn't have universal health coverage.

The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates. The U.S. has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions and an obesity rate nearly twice the OECD average.

The US spends more of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care than other high-income countries yet ranks last in access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data for countries performing best in the healthcare sector, the US ranks 37, while India stands at 112. While the US can still improve and learn more from the top performers, India still has a long way to go.

How does the quality of the U.S. health system compare to other countries? Despite spending more money per capita on healthcare than any similarly large and wealthy nation, the United States has a lower life expectancy than peer nations and has seen worsening health outcomes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other top countries in the ranking include Italy (second), Iceland (third), and Japan (fourth). Globally, in North America, Canada ranks 16th, the United States ranks 35th, and Mexico ranks 53rd.

However, despite higher healthcare spending, America's health outcomes are not any better than those in other developed countries. The United States actually performs worse in some common health metrics like life expectancy, infant mortality, and unmanaged diabetes.

The latest excellent/good rating for U.S. healthcare quality is just two percentage points lower than in 2021; however, it is well below the 62% high point twice recorded in the early 2010s. It also trails the average 55% reading since 2001. These findings are from Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare survey.

How is healthcare different in the US than other developed countries? ›

The most notable way the U.S. differs from other industrialized countries is the absence of universal health insurance coverage. 5 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.

The U.S. performs worse than the average developed nation on 77% of health status indicators like life expectancy, obesity and opioid mortality rate, according to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report.

The US had statistically significant geographic health disparities in 5 of the 10 indicators, the most of any country, followed by Switzerland (4), the UK and Australia (3 each), and France and Germany (2 each). Canada, Norway, and the Netherlands had no statistically significant geographic health disparities.

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared with six other industrialized countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and the ability to lead long, healthy, ...

Administrative Efficiency: The U.S. ranks last in administrative efficiency because of how much time providers and patients spend dealing with paperwork, duplicative medical testing, and insurance disputes.

UnitedHealthcare has an average overall rating compared to other major health insurance companies. UHC received 3.5 out of five stars overall from HealthCare.gov. This middle-of-the-road rating is because of lower scores for customer service and how well UHC's network of doctors provides medical care.

As policy experts have pointed out in studies of the U.S. health system, the country doesn't "have a comprehensive national health insurance system because American political institutions are structurally biased against this kind of comprehensive reform."

However, despite higher healthcare spending, America's health outcomes are not any better than those in other developed countries. The United States actually performs worse in some common health metrics like life expectancy, infant mortality, and unmanaged diabetes.

There are several underlying factors that can increase price and utilization, thereby boosting spending on healthcare. The most notable of those factors are an aging population and healthcare prices.