The best health care in the world? Hardly!

From the Commonwealth Fund’s website:

Once upon a time, it was taken as an article of faith among mostAmericans that the U.S. health care system was simply the best in theworld. Yet growing evidence indicates the system falls short given thehigh level of resources committed to health care. Although nationalhealth spending is significantly higher than the average rate of otherindustrialized countries, the U.S. is the only industrialized countrythat fails to guarantee universal health insurance and coverage isdeteriorating, leaving millions without aff ordable access topreventive and essential health care. Quality of care is highlyvariable and delivered by a system that is too often poorlycoordinated, driving up costs, and putting patients at risk. Withrising costs straining family, business, and public budgets, accessdeteriorating and variable quality, improving health care performanceis a matter of national urgency.

The Commonwealth Fund Commissionon a High Performance Health System has developed a National Scorecardon U.S. Health System Performance (see the table below for scores on 37key indicators). The Scorecard assesses how well the U.S. health systemis performing as a whole relative to what is achievable. It providesbenchmarks for the nation and a mechanism for monitoring change overtime across core health care system goals of health outcomes, quality,access, efficiency, and equity.

The US is 20th out of the 20 largest industrial nations. 

Get the Executive Summary or the report.  OR get the Health Affairs summary of the Report.