Healthcare experts say massive spending does not produce better results
of ConsumerAffairs
An analysis of healthcare quality in 10 developed nations has delivered some bad news for Americans. U.S. healthcare is the worst, despite the amount of money that is spent on it.
The report by the Commonwealth Fund, an independent healthcare research firm, found Americans are sicker and die younger than people in the other nine nations.
The U.S. is failing one of its principal obligations as a nation: to protect the health and welfare of its people, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a statement. The status quocontinually spending the most and getting the least for our health care dollarsis not sustainable. It isnt about lack of resourcesits clearly about how they are being spent.
The U.S. finished last in three of five categories equity, health outcomes and access to care and had the poorest overall ranking.
Heres how the countries rank:
1. Australia
2. Netherlands
3. U.K.
4. New Zealand
5. France
6. Sweden
7. Canada
8. Switzerland
9. Germany
10. U.S.
Spending doesnt equal quality
ConsumerAffairs didnt find that many health care professionals who took issue with the rankings. Dr Heather Hinshelwood spent 20 years working in emergency rooms before becoming the co-owner and chief medical officer of The Fraum Center for Restorative Health on Hilton Head Island.
Give me an hour in the emergency department, and I can spend $1 million dollars. Easy, she told ConsumerAffairs. But, you won't have $1 million dollars worth of health at the end of that hour.
Hinshelwood said patients would get much more value from a good diet, vigorous exercise, sunshine, fresh air, and having a purpose driven life. But, she says, thats not how the American healthcare system works.
American patients have been conditioned to be monetized vessels that are operated on and prescribed to in exchange for money from various payors, with the U.S. government being the largest payor by far, Hinshelwood said. Frankly, patients being healthy and well doesn't generate income and therefore isn't prioritized. A more cynical person might say that it would be more fiscally advantageous to this system for patients to remain ill and in need of additional services.
Not everyone gets the same treatment
Kwesi Neblett, creator of the nationwide healthy equity initiative #BlackProstateCheckChallenge, worries that the U.S. system doesnt serve everyone equally, with marginalized populations getting less care.
In America, we have higher disparities in the quality of care, especially in lower-income neighborhoods, which often leads to me and other Black men receiving substandard treatment options, Neblett said. I find that countries like France and the Netherlands provide more equitable healthcare services.
Sara Mathew, associate director - Research and Operations Administration at Weill Cornell Medicine, says the high cost of U.S. healthcare provides a systemic barrier to quality and effective treatment.
The U.S. can draw valuable lessons from Australia and the Netherlands to improve its healthcare system, she told us. By adopting strategies like funding community organizations, implementing telemedicine, addressing healthcare worker shortages, collecting data to reduce disparities, and regulating costs, the U.S. can make meaningful progress toward a more equitable, accessible, and sustainable healthcare system.
Mathew said those changes would ensure better outcomes, particularly for underserved populations, while controlling costs and expanding access to care.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-09-23 14:07:59
