Our Failing Healthcare System

An analysis of 70 health system performance measures in 5 areas revealed our healthcare system performance is embarrassingly poor. So poor, in fact, that it ranks last out of 10 developed nations according to a report by the independent research group The Commonwealth Fund. The two countries with the highest overall rankings were Australia and the Netherlands. Both have the lowest healthcare spending per GDP.

Spending the most, getting the least on returns

Despite spending more than twice as much as any other nation ranked, people in the states are dying at a younger age than any other country. People in the U.S. die the youngest and experience the most avoidable deaths, even though our country spends nearly twice as much as other developed countries.

Areas of healthcare ranked

Access to Care

 Affordability and availability. 26 million Americans are uninsured, given the high price of insurance premiums and high deductibles causing many to skip provider visits, medical tests, or even prescriptions.

In addition, shortages of primary care providers were noted in the report.

Second highest ranking in the care process

 Only New Zealand scored higher than the U.S. in the delivery of prevention, safety, coordination, patient engagement, and sensitivity to patient preferences. They emphasized services such as our flu vaccination and mammogram rates.

Administrative efficiency

In regard to medical claims and insurance issues. The report states that patients in the U.S. are more likely to seek treatment in emergency departments for conditions that are treatable in a clinical setting. In addition, healthcare providers spend vast amounts of time dealing with the complex maze of rules and requirements that each insurance plan has to approve payments. The report also points out that denials of service, which are common, necessitate appeals taking valuable time away from patient care.

Equity

 Reflects how below-average and above-average income groups receive access to healthcare. It also looks at survey questions that ask physicians if the health system treats patients fairly or unfairly because of ethnic or racial status. Geography- rural versus urban healthcare- and gender were added to the questionnaire. These calculations are biased and may not paint the whole picture of how patients are treated because of race, ethnicity, income level, gender, or geography.

Health outcomes

Life expectancy is more than four years below the 10-country average, and the U.S. has the highest rates of preventable and treatable deaths for all ages as well as excess deaths related to the pandemic for people under age 75. The survey points to managing the COVID pandemic, gun violence, and substance abuse crisis as other preventable causes of death.

Other than the substance abuse crisis, I don’t agree with this left-leaning report for the reasons given.

Analysis

This survey has a modicum of truth to it. Skyrocketing insurance rates, lack of healthcare providers, and many uninsured in the population may be partly to blame for our poor health outcomes.

However, the buck stops there. Literally. As a nation, we have allowed genetically modified foods, additives, and a vaccination schedule that is criminal in the number and type of shots given to pollute our bodies.

We allow chemicals in our food supply that are banned in other countries. We encourage a sedentary lifestyle for ourselves and our offspring by sitting in front of the EMF-emitting rectangles (our TVs, pads, computer screens, and phones).

We are the most drugged country in the world per capita, spending the most money of any developed nation on pharmaceuticals.

We allow insurance companies to dictate our care without realizing there is a better, healthier way to live.

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Written By Brooke Lounsbury