US has poorest health outcomes of any high income country

Every country struggles with high health care costs and populations that are aging, who will need a lot of health care. But, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that the US has the poorest health outcomes of 20 high income countries. Americans lack universal coverage, struggle to get primary care, face high out-of-pocket costs and are forced to navigate a complex health care system.

Of all the countries studied, only the US and Mexico did not guarantee health insurance coverage to every citizen. In the US, 27 million people are uninsured and tens of millions more are underinsured. Unlike the US, Mexico now has plans to provide health care coverage to all its citizens.

The US spends almost twice as much on health care than any other country studied, 18 percent of our gross domestic product. We spend 1.5 times as much as Switzerland, which has the second highest health care spending. On prescription drugs, we spend more than $400 a year on average, whereas the French spend less than $100 a year. And, we are much more likely not to fill a prescription or get a medical test because of the cost than people in other wealthy countries.

What’s equally concerning is that relative to other developed nations, the US has a very low rate of physician graduates and the lowest rate of primary care physicians.

People in the US are more likely to die prematurely, from avoidable causes, than people in other wealthy countries. And Americans, along with Mexicans and Turks have the shortest life expectancies of people in developed countries. Americans’ life expectancy is around 79 years old, whereas other wealthy nations on average have life expectancies that are two years longer.

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