Americans pay most, but only get mediocre care, report says

WASHINGTON - The United States spends far more on health care than any other country but gets only mediocre care in return for its investment, according to a report released Wednesday.

The U.S. national average score on 37 separate measures of health care falls far short when compared either to a few centers of excellence within the country, or to other countries, the report from the Commonwealth Fund found.

“Overall, you will see ... that the United States scores poorly — an overall score of 66 (out of 100),” Cathy Schoen, senior vice president for research and evaluation at non-profit health-care research foundation, told a news conference.

The non-profit fund, whose goal is to improve health care, measured 37 indicators ranging from newborn mortality to how much a hospital stay costs for someone with colon cancer. - MSNBC
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Some examples from the report -

U.S. infant mortality rate -
US (higher than in any of the other 23 countries measured) - 7 deaths per 1,000 births.
Next worst is New Zealand - 5.6 per 1,000 births
Iceland (Best) - 2.2 per 1,000 births

The United States scores 15th out of 19 developed nations on deaths from causes that are easily prevented if timely medical care is provided, such as heart attacks. France scores the best, with 75 deaths per 100,000, while the United States weighs in with 115 per 100,000. Only Ireland, Britain and Portugal score worse.

At least it's nice to know that we spend the most.

“We are by far and away the leader on costs,” Schoen said. Americans spend 16 percent of gross domestic product on health care — double the median for all industrialized countries."