International Health Effectiveness Comparisons: How Does the US Stack Up?

The US spends a lot more on health care and coverage than any other nation, nearly 16% of GDP vs. 11% in Germany and 8.7% on average in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. And we have 45 million or more of our nation's residents uninsured while they have next to none. A recent study compared six health systems: in Britain, Germany, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Overall, the US ranked last in all categories. This discussion draft highlights some of the comparative findings of the study.