Earlier this year, Cadillac ran a controversial TV ad that first
aired during the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics. It was
called “Poolside” and featured actor Neal McDonough extolling America’s
work ethic over other countries — specifically France.
Turns out that many of those “other countries” (including France) score better than the U.S. in at least one key metric not included in Cadillac’s TV spot — healthcare. At least that’s according to The Commonwealth Fund in their latest report “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall — 2014 Update” (pdf here).
The report itself is fairly short (32 pages), but included prior surveys and national health system scorecards as well as data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The report also included a list of major findings (abbreviated here):
All of which makes Cadillac’s advertising chutzpah even more brazen. After all, it was just seven short months ago that the Government “bailout” of GM officially ended. One of the more commonly cited reasons for the dire financial predicament of the auto industry was always — yup — ballooning healthcare costs. Just as Starbucks spends more on healthcare benefits than coffee beans (here) — GM (at least in 2005) spent more on healthcare benefits than steel (here).
The U.S. excels in many areas, but clearly population health (and all it’s components) isn’t one of them. N’est-ce pas? (www.forbes.com)
Turns out that many of those “other countries” (including France) score better than the U.S. in at least one key metric not included in Cadillac’s TV spot — healthcare. At least that’s according to The Commonwealth Fund in their latest report “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall — 2014 Update” (pdf here).
1. United Kingdom
2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Germany & Netherlands (tied)
7. New Zealand & Norway (tied)
9. France
10. Canada
11. United States
It’s fairly well accepted that the U.S. is the most expensive
healthcare system in the world, but many continue to falsely assume that
we pay more for healthcare because we get better health (or better
health outcomes). The evidence, however, clearly doesn’t support that
view.2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Germany & Netherlands (tied)
7. New Zealand & Norway (tied)
9. France
10. Canada
11. United States
The report itself is fairly short (32 pages), but included prior surveys and national health system scorecards as well as data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The report also included a list of major findings (abbreviated here):
Quality: The indicators
of quality were grouped into four categories: effective care, safe care,
coordinated care, and patient-centered care. Compared with the other 10
countries, the U.S. fares best on provision and receipt of preventive
and patient-centered care.
Access: Not surprisingly —
given the absence of universal coverage — people in the U.S. go without
needed health care because of cost more often than people do in the
other countries.
Efficiency: On indicators
of efficiency, the U.S. ranks last among the 11 countries, with the
U.K. and Sweden ranking first and second, respectively. The U.S. has
poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and
administrative costs as well as on measures of administrative hassles,
avoidable emergency room use, and duplicative medical testing.
Equity: The U.S. ranks a
clear last on measures of equity. Americans with below-average incomes
were much more likely than their counterparts in other countries to
report not visiting a physician when sick; not getting a recommended
test, treatment, or follow-up care; or not filling a prescription or
skipping doses when needed because of costs. On each of these
indicators, one-third or more lower-income adults in the U.S. said they
went without needed care because of costs in the past year.
Healthy lives: The U.S.
ranks last overall with poor scores on all three indicators of healthy
lives — mortality amenable to medical care, infant mortality, and
healthy life expectancy at age 60. Overall, France, Sweden, and
Switzerland rank highest on healthy lives.
Perhaps the biggest single takeaway was this one:
The most notable way the U.S. differs
from other industrialized countries is the absence of universal health
insurance coverage. Other nations ensure the accessibility of care
through universal health systems and through better ties between
patients and the physician practices that serve as their medical homes. The Commonwealth Fund “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall — 2014 Update”
Unfortunately, many still equate “universal healthcare” with “Government run” or “single payer” healthcare. It isn’t (Universal Coverage Is Not “Single Payer” Healthcare — here).All of which makes Cadillac’s advertising chutzpah even more brazen. After all, it was just seven short months ago that the Government “bailout” of GM officially ended. One of the more commonly cited reasons for the dire financial predicament of the auto industry was always — yup — ballooning healthcare costs. Just as Starbucks spends more on healthcare benefits than coffee beans (here) — GM (at least in 2005) spent more on healthcare benefits than steel (here).
The U.S. excels in many areas, but clearly population health (and all it’s components) isn’t one of them. N’est-ce pas? (www.forbes.com)
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