Costs More, Provides Less

I’m reacting to the article in the San Luis Obispo Tribune yesterday adding to the evidence that the American healthcare system is not producing good results even though it costs more. This is not new news anymore but it is frustrating. The article was about a recent study that compared US and UK health status. It found that even when you compare similar groups of people, the Brits are less likely to get chronic health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and YET America spends way more money on health. Why? The article leaves that up to your imagination.

I don’t know where the answer lies, but the evidence is sure clear that we are not doing a good job on health. Here’s some links to more information about how our healthcare system compares to others, and maybe there’s something in here you can use. First, there’s the 2005 World Health Organization report you can plow through. For a little older WHO data, but nicely summarized, this piece from Maine is a smallish PDF you can print. Finally, here’s a report from the UK perspective showing a ranking of 192 countries–the US is #72 in case you’re wondering.

Add comment May 4th, 2006