US healthcare system worst among wealthy nations: Report

The US healthcare system was deemed the worst among the 70 healthcare systems across 10 wealthy nations including countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

According to The Hill, the report ‘Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing US Healthy System’, published by The Commonwealth Fund on Thursday, analysed 70 healthcare systems across 10 countries and compared them to one another.

The survey ranked the US system last overall, primarily due to its 10th place rankings in both accessibility and health care outcomes, along with low scores in administrative efficiency and equity, added the report.

“Twenty years later this report reveals that our healthcare system continues to lag far behind other nations when it comes to meeting our citizens basic health care needs,” The Hill report quoted Joseph Bentacourt, president of The Commonwealth Fund, as saying.

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The Commonwealth Fund, which is a leading health research nonprofit that has conducted and released international health policy surveys since 2004, chose to focus on affordability and availability when it ranked healthcare systems on their accessibility.

According to the report, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany have been ranked first, second, and third, respectively, for health care access in the survey, with Switzerland and Australia in eighth and ninth place.In the Netherlands, primary care, maternity care, and child health services are fully covered by insurance, with other health services available after an annual deductible, as reported by CZ, one of the country’s largest insurers.

The UK’s National Health Service provides free public health care, including hospital, doctor, and mental health services, while in Germany, co-payments are income-based, according to the public health insurance company Krankenkassen.

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Both Germany and the Netherlands require some physicians to work after hours, ensuring 24/7 access to care.

According to the survey, affordability is a major barrier to health care access in the US.

There are still at least roughly 26 million Americans who do not have health insurance, who are expected to pay for all health care costs out of pocket, reported The Hill, citing KFF.

Americans with health insurance also still face significant financial hurdles when paying for healthcare.

According to the survey, in 2024, the out-of-pocket limit for marketplace health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act is $9,450 for single adults and $18,900 for families.

A 2023 survey from The Commonwealth Fund found that over 40% of Americans spent $1,000 or more out of pocket on health care last year.

Compared to their peers in other countries, Americans are more likely to lack a regular doctor or health clinic, added the survey.

According to The Hill report, citing a recent Yahoo/YouGov poll, 77% of Americans have a primary care physician, while 20% do not and 4% are unsure.

Moreover, Americans face limited options for after-hours medical care, unlike many other nations. For instance, in Germany, doctors must provide after-hours care, and in the Netherlands, general practitioners must work 50 hours beyond regular hours each year to maintain their licenses, added the report, citing The Commonwealth Fund’s international health care systems profiles.

According to the report, the nonprofit assessed health outcomes based on life expectancy, avoidable deaths, and excess COVID-19 deaths, ranking Australia, Switzerland, and New Zealand as the top three.

The US has the shortest life expectancy at 77.5 years and the highest rates of preventable deaths. It also recorded the most excess COVID-19 deaths among those under 75, with drug overdoses and gun-related fatalities significantly contributing to its poor health outcomes.

Despite recent declines, over 107,000 Americans died from overdoses in 2023, while nearly 43,000 were killed by gun violence.

While the US faces serious healthcare challenges, the survey emphasises that no country analysed is without its flaws.

“Readers should use caution in drawing conclusions when comparing countries’ overall performance,” the survey reads.

“Each country has areas of higher and lower performance, and all countries have something to learn from one another,” the survey added.

With inputs from agencies