A new survey shows that the American healthcare system is the lowest ranking of its kind among similarly wealthy countries.
The Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit in the health research sector, released a report on Thursday September 19 that shows how the United States has the worst healthcare system compared to nine other countries. The survey—whose title described the “portrait of the failing U.S. healthy system”—considered 70 separate healthcare systems in a total of 10 wealthy countries.
The nations in the analysis included the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It is the 20th year that the nonprofit research group has produced the survey, which they started doing in 2004. This year’s results land the American healthcare system in last place. It ranked 10th for health outcomes and accessibility and also placed low on the scale for equity and efficiency.
Joseph Bentacourt, The Commonwealth Fund’s president, told the media that the report shows how the United States “continues to lag” when it comes to healthcare systems of wealthy nations and fulfilling the “basic health care needs” of its citizens. The Netherlands was ranked the top out of the 10 nations regarding access to health care, with the United Kingdom coming in second and Germany third.
Switzerland and Australia ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the same category. The Netherlands reportedly has full insurance coverage for primary, maternity, and pediatric care. Other services are covered by insurance after patients make a yearly deductible payment. In the United Kingdom, public health care is free via the National Health Service (NHS), including visits to the hospital, physician’s office, and with mental health professionals.
Germany accepts co-payments that have a cap depending on patient income. Both Germany and the Netherlands healthcare systems mandate that some doctors work overtime to provide 24-hour care access for patients. In the United States, though, access to such care is seriously blocked by a lack of affordability.
About 26 million American citizens do not have health insurance, and even among those that do, there are major financial obstacles for patients trying to afford basic care. The survey noted that the Affordable Care Act limits out-of-pocket plans to $9,450 for single insurance holders and $18,900 for family plans this year.
