US Healthcare Failing Nation

In a recent article at the Washington Post, they report on the failing grade the US health care system received last year. Although the health care in the US hasn’t improved since 2006, the US spends more on health care than any other nation. In 2003, 35% of Americans had no health insurance. In 2007, this number had risen to 42%. The quality of health care was also dramatically different from state to state, and region to region.

The scores of efficiency rated among the lowest of variables. Some of the reasons were:

-Fragmented, poorly coordinated care
-Lack of access that leads to avoidable hospitalizations
-Variations on costs with no return in quality
-Lack of investment in IT
-High insurance overhead costs

Cathy Schoen, the senior vice president for research and evaluation at the Commonwealth Fund had this to say of the situation:

“Overall, we find a failure to improve, with steep declines in access with growing numbers of uninsured and underinsured and ever less affordable care. Overall, the U.S. score averages just 65 out of a possible 100, falling far short of benchmarks with wide gaps in all dimensions of the health system.”