Who says you get what you pay for? Not the Commonwealth Fund. That organization released a study yesterday ranking the U.S. both lowest in quality and highest in cost of health care, among 11 industrialized nations.
The United Kingdom ranked first overall in quality and at less than half the cost in the U.S.: $3,406 versus $8,508 per person in 2011. Next in quality after the U.K. were Switzerland and Sweden. Joining the U.S. at the bottom were Canada and France.
One particularly heartbreaking finding was that in addition to ranking last in overall quality, the U.S. also ranked last in infant mortality.
Most observers agree that the major factor contributing to America’s poor showing is the lack of access to primary care. And steep cost is a big barrier to access.
