Despite Americans paying nearly double that of other nations, the US fares poorly in list of 10 countries
The United States health system ranked dead last in an international comparison of 10 peer nations, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund.
In spite of Americans paying nearly double that of other countries, the system performed poorly on health equity, access to care and outcomes.
“I see the human toll of these shortcomings on a daily basis,” said Dr Joseph Betancourt, the president of the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation with a focus on healthcare research and policy.
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The fund said the US would need to expand insurance coverage and make “meaningful” improvements on the amount of healthcare expenses patients pay themselves; minimize the complexity and variation in insurance plans to improve administrative efficiency; build a viable primary care and public health system; and invest in social wellbeing, rather than thrust problems of social inequity onto the health system.
It’s honestly infuriating that these companies are essentially diagnosing and treating patients without doctor-patient relationship (required by federal law). And like LITERALLY determining and dictating treatment. That’s illegal if ANYONE else does it. Even if your own medical provider doesn’t see you per new condition, that can be considered a violation of that law. And these insurance guys have never seen us in real life.
I also think that it’s a really strangely allowed violation of HIPPA. Why should everyone at the insurance company, or ANYONE at an insurance company, have the right to my medical information? Why are they able to communicate with my doctor’s office? I absolutely hate the privacy aspect of insurance so much.