U.S. healthcare is the best in the world.  We have often heard this in the news and particularly from politicians.  Is it true?  In this post, I will examine that claim and present some evidence to the contrary.

Comparisons of Healthcare Costs

U.S. healthcare is the most expensive in the world.  In 2013, the latest year that we have complete data, the U.S. spent 17.1% of its GDP on health care.  Then next highest country was France, which spent 11.6% of its GDP on health care.

If you look at actual spending (public and private), the U.S. spends $9,000 per person per year.  Switzerland is next highest at $6,300 per person per year.  Japan spends the lowest at $3,700 per person per year.

So do we get 1.5 times as much healthcare quality as Switzerland and three times as much as Japan?

Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Comparisons of Healthcare Outcomes

(Data from the Commonwealth Fund Report)

Life Expectancy at Birth

The U.S has the lowest life expectancy at birth of the thirteen richest western countries, 78.8 years.  The life expectancy in Japan, for example is 83.4 and in the UK is 81.1.

Infant Mortality Rate

The U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate of the thirteen richest countries, 6.1 deaths per 1000 live births.  The median for the other 12 countries is 3.5 deaths per 1000 live births.

Prevalence of Chronic Diseases

68% of U.S. adults over age 65 have two or more chronic diseases. This is the highest of the 13 countries.  The next highest is Canada at 56% and the lowest is the UK at 33%.

Obesity

35% of U.S. adults are obese, the highest of the thirteen countries.  The next highest is New Zealand at 31% and the lowest is Japan at 3.7%.

Deaths from Ischemic Heart Disease (blockage of coronary arteries)

The U.S. has the second highest death rate from ischemic heart disease of the thirteen countries at 128 deaths per 100,000 population.  New Zealand is a bit higher at 138, while Japan and France are at 35 and 43 respectively.

Amputations due to Diabetes

The U.S. has the third highest rate of amputations because of diabetes of the thirteen countries.  Only Germany and Denmark are higher.

Deaths from Cancer

This is one of the few areas where the U.S. does well in comparison to the other 12 countries.  The U.S. has the third lowest death rate from cancer, with only Japan and Sweden doing better.

Smoking Rates

This is the only other area in which the U.S. does better.  The U.S. has the third lowest percentage of smokers in the thirteen countries, 13.7%. Only Australia and Sweden do better.

Bottom Line

Among the 13 richest countries in the world, the U.S has by far the highest health care costs.  Our health outcomes are the worst among those countries with the exception of cancer death rate and smoking rates.  We are not the best at any of the outcomes.

Why do we get so little quality from our expensive health care system?  I will examine the likely causes and talk about possible solutions in several posts to come.  Stay tuned.