Health care costs are rising, and Americans are struggling to pay
The United States spends more on health care than any other high-income country, but still has the lowest life expectancy at birth and the highest rate of people with multiple chronic diseases, according to a new report from out of the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research group.
The report, which was released on Tuesday, also said that compared to its fellow countries, the United States has the highest rate of death from preventable or treatable causes and the highest rate of maternal and infant mortality.
“Americans are living shorter, less healthy lives because our health care system isn’t working as well as it could be,” said the report’s lead author, Munira Gunja, a senior researcher at the International Fund for Governments Program. Center for Health Policy and Innovative Practice, said the news release. “To catch up with other high-income countries, the administration and Congress must expand access to health care, act aggressively to control costs, and invest in the health equity and social services that we know can lead to healthier people.”
People in the U.S. see fewer doctors than most other countries, which may be related to the U.S. having a lower-than-average number of practicing physicians, according to the report, and the U.S. being the only country Those who are screened will not have universal health insurance. In 2021 alone, 8.6% of Americans are uninsured.
“Not only is the United States the only country we studied without universal health insurance, but its health system may seem designed to discourage people from using services,” researchers at the Commonwealth Fund Fund, based in New York, wrote in the report. “Lack of money remains the top reason Americans don’t sign up for health insurance, while out-of-pocket costs cause nearly half of working-age adults to skip or delay getting care. needed.”
The researchers analyzed health statistics from international sources, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, which tracks and reports data on health systems in 38 high-income countries. The data was released in December.
The researchers examined how the United States measured up to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They also compared the US to the OECD average of 38 high-income countries.
The data showed that only in 2021, the United States will spend almost twice as much as the average OECD country in health care – and the health costs in the United States will be three to four times higher than in South Korea, New Zealand and Japan.
Globally, health care costs have been increasing since the 1980s, according to the report, driven largely by advances in health technology, rising health care costs and high demand for services.
The United States has the highest rate of people with chronic health conditions, the data show, and the highest obesity rate among the countries studied.
Life expectancy at birth in the United States in 2020 was 77 years – three years less than the OECD average – early data shows that life expectancy in the United States will decrease significantly in 2021. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic, many people have died from the coronavirus. Infections in the United States compared to other high-income countries, according to the report.
Deaths caused by attacks also appeared to be the highest in the United States compared to all other countries. The researchers found that deaths from physical assault, including gun violence, fell to a rate of 7.4 deaths per 100,000 people in the United States in 2020, well above the OECD average of 2.7 and at least seven times higher than most other countries. high income reporting countries.
Where the US seemed to do well was in preventing cancer and treating cancer early. Compared to Sweden, it had the highest number of breast cancer screenings among women aged 50 to 69, and the United States surpassed the OECD average when it came to colon cancer screening rates.
Another paper published in mid-January stated that the cancer death rate in the United States has decreased by 33% since 1991, which equates to approximately 3.8 million deaths averted.
Overall, the new Commonwealth Fund report “continues to highlight the importance of international comparisons,” Reginald D. Williams II, director of the Commonwealth Fund’s International Program, said in a news release. “It gives the United States an opportunity to learn from other countries and build a better health care system that provides high-quality, affordable health care for everyone.”
Much of the data in the new report reflects trends already seen.
“It validates the fact that we continue to spend more than anyone else and get the worst health outcomes. So we’re not getting the best value for our health care dollars,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, who was not involved in the new report.
“The biggest thing for me is that Covid has not been a great equalizer [between nations]. It has not helped our cause,” Benjamin said. “If anything, it exposed the holes in the health care system.”
To help fix the holes in America’s health care system, Benjamin cited three steps the nation can take.
“We are still the only nation that does not have universal health care or access to all of our citizens,” Benjamin said.
Second, “We are not doing primary care prevention like other nations, and we still have a public health system, which is broken,” he said. “The third thing is, we have low investment compared to other industrialized countries in social affairs. They spend their money on providing early support to their citizens. We spend our money on patient care.”
Is European healthcare better than us?
Which country is #1 in health care?
Is healthcare better in US or Europe?
Quality of health care service In terms of quality of health care, service in the United States is superior to that provided in most of Western Europe. Therefore, countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, and most of Scandinavia do not have better quality health care services than the United States.
Why is European healthcare better than us?
Universal European health care systems Having different forms of interaction between insurers, providers, and patients, all European health care systems aim to provide care to everyone, based on free access, equality and equity, and justice. See the article : To prevent China’s supremacy, the United States must maintain its global system of rules, not rulers: Santana F. King. : no matter how much you get, you We get a basic package.
Is US health care spending highest among developed countries?
In 2021, the United States spent an estimated $12,318 per capita on health care – the highest per capita health care expenditures among OECD countries. To see also : Chinese tourists are ready to travel abroad again. This is why some countries are hesitant.
How does the US health care system compare to other countries? Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared to six other industrialized countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equality, and the ability to lead long, healthy, …
Does the US spend more on healthcare than other developed countries?
Over time, the share of GDP allocated to health care products and services in the United States has consistently remained 60% higher than the average for other G7 countries. To see also : Four defendants facing federal charges of mail theft and possession of United States Postal Service keys. Note: Data refers to health care costs in 2019 (or the latest year available). Source: OECD Health Statistics 2021.
Which country has the highest health care spending in the world?
Health Care Costs in the United States The United States is the most expensive country in the world when it comes to health care.
Does the US spend more on healthcare than other developed countries?
Over time, the share of GDP allocated to health care products and services in the United States has consistently remained 60% higher than the average for other G7 countries. Note: Data refers to health care costs in 2019 (or the latest year available). Source: OECD Health Statistics 2021.
Why does the US spend so much on healthcare compared to other countries?
Americans use more health care in large part because they need it more. Rates of heart disease and cancer are twice as high in the United States as in Europe, and the incidence of lung disease, stroke, and diabetes is 50 to 80 percent higher than in Europe.
Why does the US spend more on health care than any other country? The amount of resources a country allocates to health care varies as each country has its own political, economic, and social characteristics that help determine how much to spend. In general, rich countries – like the United States – spend more on health care than less rich countries.
What is one reason why healthcare expenditures are so high in the United States?
Rising premiums, higher co-payments and co-payments, and rising prices for prescription drugs lead to rising health care costs. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services1, by 2021, health care costs will skyrocket to $4.3 trillion.
How does US healthcare compare to other countries?
The United States ranks last overall in the category of health care outcomes (Exhibit 1). In nine of the 10 categories of measures, the United States’ performance is among the lowest among countries (Appendix 8), including having the highest rate of infant mortality (5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births) and the lowest life expectancy at birth. Age 60 (23.1 years).
Does the US spend more on healthcare than other countries?
Per capita health care costs in the United States were $11,945 in 2020, more than $4,000 more than in any other high-income country. The average amount spent on health care per capita in comparable countries ($5,736) is almost half that of the U.S.
