America ranks last in healthcare among developed nations: new study

Americans spend almost 2 times as much on healthcare as residents of other developed countries, yet get low quality care and less efficient service , according to the Commonwealth Fund report released last Wednesday. "As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it," Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters. The United States ranked the worst when compared to six other countries, Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey. Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.


And in case your wondering, the Netherlands ranked first overall. Britain ranked first in quality. U.S. patients with chronic conditions were the most likely to say they gotten the wrong drug or had to wait to learn of abnormal test results. "The findings demonstrate the need to quickly implement provisions in the new health reform law". Every other system covers all its citizens, the report noted and said the U.S. system, which leaves 46 million Americans or 15 percent of the population without health insurance, is the most unfair.

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