Why Do People Care about Healthcare Reform?

We Spend More but Don't Get More

Americans spend more than other countries on healthcare, but do not get more care or have better health.

Although every country is different, other developed countries—like Canada, France and Germany--are similar to the U.S. in many ways. Healthcare spending is not one of those ways. The U.S. spends a much larger percentage of our economy on healthcare than other developed nations—16% compared to the next biggest spender, France, at 11% and the average of 9%. We also spend much more per person: $7,290 per person per year compared with the next biggest spender, Norway, at $4,763 and the average of $2,964 (OECD, 2009). And, Americans spend more of their healthcare dollar on the costs of insurance and administration (7.6%) than people anywhere else (Davis, et al., 2007).

In spite of our higher spending, we do not seem to be buying more healthcare or better health. The U.S. has both fewer physicians and fewer hospital beds per person than the average for developed countries (Davis, et al., 2007). Among a group of developed countries most like us, we are next to last in the percentage of people able to get a same-day doctor’s appointment, doing better than only Canada (Commonwealth Fund, 2007). Our sicker adults are more likely to have to wait six or more days to see a doctor than their counterparts in all but two other countries (Germany and Canada) (Davis, et al., 2007).

Americans are also most likely to go without care on account of cost: 37% of us do not fill prescriptions or skip doses; have a medical problem but do not visit a doctor; or skip a test, treatment or follow-up visit because we cannot afford to pay for it (Commonwealth Fund, 2007). In Ohio, 29% of adults didn’t get or delayed getting medical care, 34% didn’t get or delayed getting dental care, and 31% didn’t get or delayed getting prescriptions (The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, 2009).

In terms of how healthy we are compared to other countries, the U.S. ranks 18th of 23 countries in the number of years of healthy life people can expect after age 60. We rank highest out of comparable countries in infant mortality, which is the percent of infants who die at birth or within a year of being born (Davis, et al., 2007). Only one other country has as high a percentage of adults with two or more chronic conditions (Commonwealth Fund, 2007). Although the U.S. has among the highest survival rates for some cancers, people living in some states are much more likely to survive than people in others, and minorities have lower survival rates than whites (Doheny, 2008).

For more information on how the U.S. healthcare system compares to other countries, please click here.

Sources

OECD Health Data 2009: How Does the United States Compare? www.oecd.org/health/healthdata.

Davis, Karen, Cathy Schoen, Stephen C. Schoenbaum, et al. 2007. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An International Update on the Comparative Performance of American Health Care. May 17, vol. 59. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2007/May/Mirror--Mirror-on-the-Wall--An-International-Update-on-the-Comparative-Performance-of-American-Healt.aspx

Commonwealth Fund. 2007. 2007 International Health Policy Survey in Seven Countries. www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Surveys/2007/2007-International-Health-Policy-Survey-in-Seven-Countries.aspx

Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, The (2009). Ohioans’ Experiences with Going without Care because of Cost. Cincinnati, OH: Author.

***************

The other countries included in this group are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,. Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.

The other countries in this group are Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom.

CONTACT US