Once again, The Commonwealth Fund is out with a report showing that we spend way more than other developed countries for our health care and yet get far less for our money. We spend more per person on health care than every other country and more as a percentage of our gross domestic product. And, unlike every other country, we don’t have guaranteed health care for everyone.
We live shorter lives, with average life expectancy of 77 , the lowest life expectancy at birth by three years than other wealthy nations. Black Americans live shorter lives than white Americans, averaging 74.8, as compared to 78.8. And Native Americans still shorter, averaging 71.8. Hispanic Americans have higher life expectancies at birth, 81.9. And Asian American life expectancies are higher still, 85.6.
Our people have multiple chronic conditions at the highest rate of all nations. We also have higher death rates for conditions that are preventable or can be treated. We have the third highest suicide rates. We have the highest infant and maternal mortality rates. We have 5.4 deaths per 1,000 births and 24 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births. And, we have the highest obesity rates.
Not surprisingly, more people in the U.S. die from assaults, including gun violence.
While our government’s focus is on overtreatment, we have far fewer physician visits than people in other countries. We also have proportionately fewer physicians and hospital beds than other developed countries.
As a percentage of GDP, we spend about twice as much as the average of other developed countries on health care, at nearly 18 percent. That percentage is growing as prices continue to rise, our population ages, and new technologies for treating patients are developed.
On a per person basis, we spend twice as much on total healthcare costs as Germany, the next highest-spending country. And, we spend close to four times as much as most other developed countries.
Though other developed countries guarantee health care for all, through public health insurance, they generally also offer their residents the right to buy private health insurance. In the US, more than 26 million people—8.6 percent have no insurance at all, and tens of millions more are underinsured, often unable to afford care even though they have insurance.
Affordable care for everyone is critical to reining in costs and addressing these terrible quality of care US rankings. Right now, even with insurance, almost half of US residents skipped or delayed getting needed care because of the cost. In addition to reining in health care costs, we must ensure well-coordinated care, including primary care, starting with investing in more primary care providers.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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