The Commonwealth Fund, which regularly ranks the health systems of a handful of developed countries, thinks it's the worst although the most expensive.
The limited insurance coverage is one problem. The Fund has found, “The literature on insurance demonstrates that having insurance lowers mortality. It is equivalent to a public-health intervention.” About a tenth of our population was uninsured in 2016; that's not the case in Europe. The variety of insurance plans is another. Different insurance plans cover different treatments and procedures, forcing doctors to spend a lot of time coordinating with insurance companies to provide care. A third problem concerns primary care. We don't invest in things like home visiting, better housing, and subsidized healthy food, which could extend the work of doctors and do a lot to improve chronic disease outcomes.
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