Commonwealth Fund

Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.

What Would Happen If Health Care in the U.S. Improved?

The United States health care system is the most expensive in the world, but the Commonwealth Fund report Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally shows the U.S. underperforms relative to 11 other industrialized countries on most dimensions of performance. Use this interactive to see what would happen if the U.S. were to raise its health system performance to the levels achieved elsewhere in the world. 

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Source: Commonwealth Fund - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally

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Notes and Sources:

Spending: Spending indicators are from OECD 2016 for the year 2014, represents current spending only, and does not include capital formation. Population estimates are from UN World Prospects for the year 2014.

Access: Went with out year because of cost includes one of the following: Did not fill a prescription; skipped recommended medical test, treatment, or follow-up; or had a medical problem but did not visit doctor or clinic in the past year because of cost. Access indicators come from the 2016 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Adults in 11 Countries. Estimates of the 18+ population are from 2015 and come from UN Data, World Population Prospects 2017.

Health Care Outcomes: Amenable mortality rates and population 0-74 years are for the year 2014, except for Canada (2011), France (2013), Netherlands (2013), NZ (2012), Swiz (2013) and UK (2013). Infant death rates are from OECD 2016 for the year 2014, and live births are from OECD 2017 for the year 2014, except in Canada (2012), NZ (2012 and the US (2013).