Despite Americans paying nearly double that of other nations, the US fares poorly in list of 10 countries
The United States health system ranked dead last in an international comparison of 10 peer nations, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund.
In spite of Americans paying nearly double that of other countries, the system performed poorly on health equity, access to care and outcomes.
“I see the human toll of these shortcomings on a daily basis,” said Dr Joseph Betancourt, the president of the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation with a focus on healthcare research and policy.
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The fund said the US would need to expand insurance coverage and make “meaningful” improvements on the amount of healthcare expenses patients pay themselves; minimize the complexity and variation in insurance plans to improve administrative efficiency; build a viable primary care and public health system; and invest in social wellbeing, rather than thrust problems of social inequity onto the health system.
Turns out a profit motive is not the best system for everything in the world. Who would have guessed?
It would probably be fine if everyone agreed to play by the rules, but they dont, and the US is terrible at enforcing them (or specifically, chooses not too, and doesnt impose new laws to stop loopholing)
But the administrative bullshit, and the other potential problems are exactly why other countries went for universal healthcare 🤷♂️
The U.S. health care system is a failure because of the continued existence of health insurance companies over the more streamlined approach of Medicare for All.
Also this graph is hilarious, albeit depressing.
Actually, many of those countries don’t have systems similar to Medicare for All. Netherlands, supposedly second in this list, has a mostly privatized system with mandatory insurance, so does Switzerland. France and Germany have semi-public and private health insurance companies. The US has bigger (and different) problems than merely the existence of health insurance companies.
Not defending the broken US healthcare system but this article is shit when it includes firearm deaths and opioid overdoses into its metrics to grade the overall healthcare system.
Those are both mental health issues, as well as the latter being failure of the medical system to limit access. (As well as the unrelated easy access to firearms issue.)
Mental healthcare in the US is terrible by itself, and is under the healthcare umbrella.
Why is that?
Oddly, it seems to be causing deaths. What’re the odds?
You think firearm deaths indicate a poor healthcare system?
It’s helpful to know that if I ever leave the US, I’ll have better healthcare. I don’t even need to spend any time researching that aspect.
No, you actually won’t. I went to Canada, had an accident and had to wait 8 hours in the emergency room to get care because apparently I wasn’t dying
As an American, I had to pay $1000 for this privilege
I meant moving to another country permanently, not traveling, but good to know that the US system can reach out and punish me if I have the audacity to travel out of network. :(
“Yeah, but Socialism and Communism!!!”
I mean I can hope, but it seems unlikely
Some people achieve some sadistic satisfaction from denying poor people health care, even if it cost extra to themselves!?
In USA there is a sentiment that looks like they are trying to exterminate the poor, by letting them suffer and die, instead of trying to build a better more humane society for all.The concept of “rich” only exists in contrast to “poor”. So you need one for the other
To me, its much more that the rich don’t want to pay for the healthcare of the people who earn all of their money for them, rather than active sadism.
More, devoid of empathy and not really seeing them as fellow humans, deserving of basic rights like not dying of poverty. Especially if it costs them money.
I disagree, when they prevent a system that benefit all including themselves, they are actively acting like sadists who want to see the suffering of those who cannot afford to pay.
Each to their own but, to me, rich people would make far more, personally, with the American system. I 100% get how you came to your conclusion though. I’m not saying sadism wouldn’t make sense or anything.
There’s a lot of miserable fucks out there due to a mix of leaded gas fumes, childhood trauma, and religious/political brainwashing.
Oh yeah? We still have more guns.
/s
But the US system ranks first in wealth extraction from people to billionaires, so it’s working as intended.
Yay for capitalism!
Israel can afford universal healthcare. But the United States? Where would we ever find the money for that?
The UK did it immediately after WW2 when our economy was destroyed. We were in much debt, we didn’t finish paying America back until 2006. However, apparently, the country we paid all that money to cant afford it?
You have to admire the brazennes of the lie though.
Shocking. “Best health care system in the world,” my ass. “You’ll have to wait months if there’s universal healthcare.” Bitch, I have to wait months now.
“You’ll have to wait months if there’s universal healthcare.”
Yeah, but that healthcare is still practically guaranteed, and it won’t put you into debt
Several times I’ve had to wait for months on healthcare in the US system. This is such a weak argument against a socialized system.
Literally anything I want done is a wait list here. Eye exam; schedule a time. Dentist; is it an emergency? We’ll schedule you sometime next month. Phycologist; its a theee month wait list. Primary care; see you in three months. Finding a reliable primary care has been a dead end nightmare.
I’m not shitting on doctors or nurses. Just this whole system is bonkers. For what reason? Healthcare is not a business.
“In capitalism everything’s a buisness.” Well get fucked.
I’m not saying we should be reductive. There is reasons for the way we do things. I am saying though, we’ve gone too far and it’s obscuring the goal of a having a functional society.
People need professionals to help with their health; an extremely complex field. Every person needs this. Its not an optional thing. You want a society, well a society needs people, and people need Healthcare.
“Well I never wanted to be part of a society.” Did you enjoy the luxury that having a society provides? From plumbing to super yatchs, all of this wealth we share was made by people like you and me.
It’s the same in Canada, socialized healthcare never solved never solved this problem. That said, I had only a four hour wait time in urgent care in the US. I had to wait eight hours in Canada for emergency care
I’ve waited 12+ hours for emergency care. It really just depends on the influx of people.
There is reasons for the way we do things.
Because a rich class keeps oppressing the poorer class, not because it’s a good way to do things.
Who has ever said that? You guys have no healthcare. It’s literally a joke to anyone outside of US.
Our politicians and pundits say it all the time.
Not a high bar if they’re also saying immigratns are eating People’s pets.
But you have to understand, to 74 million people, the Fox News Cinematic Universe is reality. There’s regular bullshit, and then there’s bullshit so widely believed that you actually have to study the bullshit, just to be able to predict what its subscribers will do next. Like religion.
My wife broke her ankle and insurance denied the entire claim for being “not medically necessary”. The “medical professional” (not doctor) who denied the claim had experience in OBGYN, not orthopedics.
100% going to win the appeal because like, we have x-rays of the shattered bones in her leg, but seriously wtf. People seriously believe this is the ideal medical system?
Its better than Canada’s…
Literally isn’t.
That’s some medical grade bullshit. Please seek medical attention if you can afford it.
I waited less in American hospitals than in Canadian hospitals for care
My family and I moved from the US to Canada in the summer of 2023 and last week was the first time I had to make use my Services Card. I went to the ER in excruciating pain, had blood and urine labs done, a shot of pain killers then waited around (a long time) for a CT scan. The doctor said it might be a new record, but I had been bumped a few times by suspected stroke patients that came in, so totally understandable. Several hours later with a prescription slip in hand I exited the hospital. Easy as pie.
For anyone who has never had the displeasure of experiencing an American hospital you can not understand how much simpler and less stressful and cheap the Canadian system is. I dont know what it would have cost me in the USA, probably whatever my insurance deductible was, but it certainly was not $0. That state of not knowing what all this is going to cost you, and how you will afford it, makes an already awful experience even worse. Not being harassed for money on the way out, never once discussing the cost of something with the DR was truly eye opening. Source
Not the same experience, 8 hours in Canadian ER before I saw a nurse
