Webmaster
08-21-2009, 06:41 AM
If you think it's the US system, keep on dreaming.
The problem goes well beyond uneven insurance coverage. Among Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the US, the US system is the most expensive and the least efficient, safe, and coordinated, in addition to having the biggest inequity. The only categories where the US scored well was waiting times for specialized care if you have good insurance (second only to Germany) and supposedly it's the best when it comes to preventive care (again if you have good insurance). However waiting times for primary and emergency care are not as good as in the other countries. Here's a link to the comparative study done by the Commonwealth Fund, as of 2007:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2007/May/Mirror--Mirror-on-the-Wall--An-International-Update-on-the-Comparative-Performance-of-American-Healt.aspx
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_img/MirrorMirror_FigureES1.gif
As to overall rankings in the whole world, there's an older study dating back to 2000 that puts the US system at #37. France was #1. It would have been interesting to see the French system included in the first and newer study.
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
The problem goes well beyond uneven insurance coverage. Among Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the US, the US system is the most expensive and the least efficient, safe, and coordinated, in addition to having the biggest inequity. The only categories where the US scored well was waiting times for specialized care if you have good insurance (second only to Germany) and supposedly it's the best when it comes to preventive care (again if you have good insurance). However waiting times for primary and emergency care are not as good as in the other countries. Here's a link to the comparative study done by the Commonwealth Fund, as of 2007:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2007/May/Mirror--Mirror-on-the-Wall--An-International-Update-on-the-Comparative-Performance-of-American-Healt.aspx
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_img/MirrorMirror_FigureES1.gif
As to overall rankings in the whole world, there's an older study dating back to 2000 that puts the US system at #37. France was #1. It would have been interesting to see the French system included in the first and newer study.
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html