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Food and Health Fact #104
Fact #104: U.S. health care compared to other high-income countries
By Matthew Rees
Food and Health Fact #104: U.S. health care compared to other high-income countries
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The United States has far and away the worst health care system among 11 developed countries. That was the conclusion of an analysis, published last month, of 71 performance measures spread across five categories: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes. U.S. spending on health care (16.8 percent of GDP) greatly exceeds the average for the 10 other nations (10.5 percent). The health outcomes data is particularly striking: among the countries studied, the United States has the highest infant mortality rate, the lowest life expectancy at age 60, and a rate of preventable mortality more than twice as high as the best-performing country. A 2019 analysis of the same countries reached similar conclusions, showing the United States to have the highest chronic disease burden and the highest obesity rate, though scoring well on preventive measures such as flu vaccinations and breast cancer screenings.
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