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Still an Elusive System for Many

[By Staff Reporters]

Access to health care in the United States continues to elude more and more Americans, and the nation’s health care system hasn’t improved overall, even though the U.S. spends more on medical care than any other industrialized nation, a new Commonwealth Fund survey shows.

The Study

The authors compared average performance in the United States to those of top-rated performers across the country and abroad. Overall, the U.S. score averages just 65 out of a possible 100, falling far short of benchmarks with wide gaps in all dimensions of the health system, while the score was lower than that achieved in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2006 scorecard, according to  HealthDay, on July 17, 2008.

Efficiency Scores Low

For example, scores for efficiency were particularly low, held down by fragmented, poorly coordinated care; lack of access that leads to avoidable hospitalizations; variations in costs with no return in quality; lack of investment in information technology; and very high insurance overhead costs.

USA is Dead-Last

Although no pun is intended, the United States is now “dead-last” among 19 industrialized nations in premature deaths that might have been prevented by better access to health care. In 2006, the United States was 15th on the list.

The scorecard also found that health care varies widely from state to state, region to region, and from one hospital and health plan to another, while the difference between the best and worst performers can be as much as fivefold.

On the positive side, mortality rates in hospitals improved 19 percent over the past five years, the result of concentrated public-private efforts to improve hospital safety.

Related Findings also Disappoint

Related other findings of the scorecard included:

• Basic preventive care hasn’t improved, with only 50 percent of all adults receiving recommended preventive care, such as cancer screenings.
• Health insurance premiums continue to rise faster than wages. In 2007, 41 percent of adults said they had medical debt or trouble paying medical bills, up from 34 percent in 2005.
• The number of primary care doctors using electronic medical records rose from 17 percent in 2001 to 28 percent in 2006, but this gain still lags some other countries where 98 percent of doctors use electronic records.

Assessment

Disparities in health care continue to be pervasive, with minority, low-income and uninsured adults more likely to wait to see a doctor and encounter delays and poorly coordinated care. Also, they have worse dental care, more uncontrolled chronic disease, more avoidable hospitalizations, and worse outcomes.

Conclusion

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Filed under: Health Insurance, Surveys and Voting | Tagged: healthcare access | 2 Comments »