News / Health & Wellness
United States at Bottom of Global Health Care List
Published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs by the Commonwealth Fund, the study was called “Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis.” The article was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
By studying the death rates of citizens under the age of 75 that could have been saved by “timely and effective medical care,” researchers found that the majority of most countries saw a 16 % decline in the countries’ preventable death rates. Meanwhile, the United States only saw a 4% decrease.
The study’s financer, the Commonwealth Fund, expressed their concerns for the US data stating, “It is startling to see the US falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance…other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less.”
A total of 19 countries were studied. Here is how they ranked.
19. United States
18. United Kingdom
17. Sweden
16. Spain
15. Portugal
14. Norway
13. New Zealand
12. Netherlands
11. Italy
10. Ireland
9. Greece
8. Germany
7. Finland
6. Denmark
5. Canada
4. Austria
3. Australia
2. Japan
1. France
The lead author of the study has said “It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the US.” According to the researchers involved with the study, 101,000 less people would die per year if the US stepped up to the level of any of the top three countries.
