The United States ranked last in terms of efficiency among five other nations with universal health care, according to a Common Wealth study. The government-run health care system in Great Britain ranked first.Compared with five other nations — Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom — the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives.
Efficiency: On indicators of efficiency, the U.S. ranks last among the six countries, with the U.K. and New Zealand ranking first and second, respectively. The U.S. has poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and administrative costs as well as on measures of the use of information technology and multidisciplinary teams. Also, of sicker respondents who visited the emergency room, those in Germany and New Zealand are less likely to have done so for a condition that could have been treated by a regular doctor, had one been available.
John McCain never did let the facts get in the way of his arguments. Am I the only villager who feels blessed that McCain is not currently living in the White House? Check him out as he talks nonsense about health care reform in the United States:
I'm looking for feedback. Share your village voice with us on the issue of health care reform. What are you thinking as you listen to McCain, Obama and others?
