Among 11 high-income countries, the U.S. was ranked last in access to health care, equity and outcomes, revealed The Commonwealth Fund research released Aug. 4.
The U.S. earned the bottom spot, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care than other countries, the report showed.
“In no other country does income inequality so profoundly limit access to care as it does here,” David Blumenthal, president of The Commonwealth Fund, told CNN Health. “Far too many people cannot afford the care they need, and far too many are uninsured, especially compared to other wealthy nations.”
The U.S. is the only one of the 11 countries surveyed not to have universal health insurance coverage, CNN reported.
The U.S. recorded the highest maternal mortality, with 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. It also had the highest infant mortality rate, with 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the lowest life expectancy at age 60 (23.1 years). There were also 177 per 100,000 deaths that were potentially preventable with timely access to care, the highest among the countries, the survey found.
Notably, a high-income American was more likely to report financial difficulties, compared to a low-income individual in almost all the other countries polled.
The 11 countries studied, ranked from best to worst in terms of health care, are: Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S.
