The United States ranks 15th out of 19 countries on a measure of preventable deaths before age 75, and lack of access to care due to cost is four times more prevalent in this country than in the United Kingdom. In an article in Health Affairs, researchers describe the scores earned by the nation’s healthcare system on a new national scorecard developed by The Commonwealth Fund. The scorecard, “which was designed to assess and monitor all key dimensions of performance in relationship to benchmarks and over time, provides a unique whole-system view,” the authors explain.
The United States’ total average score across all categories was 66 out of a possible 100, and “on multiple indicators, the United States would need to improve its performance by 50% or more” to reach the levels attained by top performers. A score of 100 on a given indicator represents not perfection but rather benchmarks set by top-performing countries or the top 10% of U.S. states, hospitals, health plans, or other providers. Read the article.
