U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System Performance Measures (2024)

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U.S. Ranks Last Among Seven Countries on Health System Performance Measures? ›

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared with six other industrialized countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and the ability to lead long, healthy, ...

The US also ranked last in terms of health outcomes, with the highest infant mortality and lowest life expectancy of any of the countries. One bright spot for the US was its second-place ranking in terms of care processes, including preventive, safe, and coordinated care and in patient engagement and preferences.

Access to Care: Universal, Affordable Coverage Is Paramount

Overall, the U.S. is #11 — last — on access to care (Exhibit 1). The U.S. has the poorest performance on the affordability subdomain, scoring much lower than even the next-lowest country, Switzerland (Exhibit 5).

The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates. The U.S. has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions and an obesity rate nearly twice the OECD average.

The United States ranked last on health-care outcomes among surveyed countries, with the highest infant mortality rate and lowest life expectancy at age 60. The U.S. rate of preventable mortality is more than double that of Switzerland, the highest-performing country in that category.

The other top countries in the ranking include Italy (second), Iceland (third), and Japan (fourth). Globally, in North America, Canada ranks 16th, the United States ranks 35th, and Mexico ranks 53rd.

Healthcare System Performance Ranking

Key findings: “The top-performing countries overall are Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia. The United States ranks last overall, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care.

People in the US see doctors less often than those in most other countries, which is probably related to the US having a below-average number of practicing physicians, according to the report, and the US is the only country among those studied that doesn't have universal health coverage.

The U.S. spends more on health care but has worse health outcomes than comparable countries around the globe. This holds true across age and income groups. Within the U.S., there are unacceptable disparities in health by race and ethnic group, county by county and state by state.

Ranking of health and health systems of countries worldwide in 2023. In 2023, Singapore dominated the ranking of the world's health and health systems, followed by Japan and South Korea.

What makes the U.S. healthcare system different from other countries? ›

Access to health care services is selectively based on insurance coverage – Unlike other countries where there is universal healthcare that is generally available to all citizens, Americans can access health care services only if they (1) have health insurance through their employers, (2) are covered under a government ...

There are many reasons that have been put forth to explain this dominance, but the most basic and powerful is very likely money. The free-market health care economy of the US, along with lower regulatory and tax burdens, strongly incentivizes corporations to focus their business in America.

The United States ranks 11th in the 2022 World Index of Healthcare Innovation, down from 6th in 2021 and 4th in 2020.

Sierra Leone has the dubious distinction of being the worst country in providing healthcare to its citizens, with a score of 0.00 on the WHO health systems performance index. It is an African coastal country bordered by Guinea and Liberia, and has a population of almost 6 million.

West Virginia has the worst health care in the nation.

Though West Virginia ranks No. 3 for accessibility, it has the worst health outcomes of any state, with the highest rate of preventable deaths (1,229 deaths per 100,000 residents) and diabetes mortalities.

Ranking of health and health systems of countries worldwide in 2023. In 2023, Singapore dominated the ranking of the world's health and health systems, followed by Japan and South Korea.

Although a few companies, such as Kaiser Permanente, performed better in this category, UnitedHealthcare received 4.06 out of 5 stars. The company also did well in J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Study scores for California, which measures health plans for overall customer satisfaction.

People in the US see doctors less often than those in most other countries, which is probably related to the US having a below-average number of practicing physicians, according to the report, and the US is the only country among those studied that doesn't have universal health coverage.