The Verdict Is In: US Healthcare System Is Basically Garbage (IMAGES)

The American healthcare system was ranked last in a recent survey of 11 developed countries.

A U.S. think tank, the Commonwealth Fund, conducted the survey using data from the World Health Organization, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and the OECD, among other sources.

US Healthcare Is Lowest Ranking Overall

The U.K. ranked first, followed (in descending order) by Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway (tied for fourth place), Sweden and Switzerland (tied for sixth place), Germany, Canada, France, and the United States.

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Image from Commonwealth Fund Study

In addition to an overall ranking, the survey also ranked each country in five areas: care process, access, administrative efficiency, equity, and healthcare outcomes. The U.S. ranked last in all but one area, care process, which measures the level of safety, physician coordination and engagement, and preventive care a patient receives.

Wealth Inequality Has A Role In Access To Healthcare

The study also highlights how America’s growing wealth inequality is affecting access to healthcare. Relevant findings include:

  • 33 percent of Americans had cost-related access problems to medical care over the past year
  • 32 percent of Americans skipped a checkup or dental care in the past year due to the cost
  • 20 percent of Americans had serious problems paying or were unable to pay medical bills
  • 60 percent of doctors reported that patients often have difficulty paying for medications or out-of-pocket costs

The US Senate Is Working Hard To Strip Healthcare From Millions

The study comes at a time when Senate Republicans are debating healthcare reform legislation that would strip healthcare from over 20 million people and essentially end Medicaid, the country’s largest insurance program.

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Image from Commonwealth Fund Study

The Commonwealth Fund’s analysis found that the United States “falls short,” adding:

“Life expectancy, after improving for several decades, worsened in recent years for some populations, aggravated by the opioid crisis. In addition, as the baby boom population ages, more people in the U.S.—and all over the world—are living with age-related disabilities and chronic disease, placing pressure on health care systems to respond.

“Timely and accessible health care could mitigate many of these challenges, but the U.S. health care system falls short, failing to deliver indicated services reliably to all who could benefit.”


So, our healthcare system is basically garbage. And the Trump administration is making every effort to make that even worse.

Featured image via YouTube.