15 Countries with Better Healthcare than the United States
Let’s compare which countries have the most efficient health care system, regardless universal health care, single payer insurance system, or ObamaCare etc. We evaluate the efficiency of the health care system based by the expected life expectancy and the total expenditure on heath as percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The figures I collected are from the following Wikipedia and WHO(World Health Organization) and I use spreadsheet to calculate the efficiency of the health care system of each country followed with my own analysis and comments. Below are some presumptions.
- The better the health care system the country has, the longer its citizens live.
- Life Expectancy can be used as Healthy Life Expectancy(HALE), assuming the years they live unhealthy is the same.
- The citizens of each country need health care to sustain their lives and they don’t die prematurely from other reasons like starving or lack of health care when they need it. You can see India and Gambia are considered “Efficient” based by the Health Care Efficiency Index.
So if we divide Life Expectancy by the Percentage of Total Expenditure on Health to determine the efficiency of health care for each country, as you can see, the performance of Singapore is unbelievably efficient, their government spends least money percentage wise and the life expectancy of its citizens goes up to 82.
Most Asian countries like Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan are pretty much on top of the list. Countries like India and Gambia should have not listed here because probably most of their citizens are not covered by the universal health care.
On the other hand, the United States needs to spend lots of money(17.6% of its GDP) to keep its “notorious” health care system. I seriously doubt the ObamaCare (Affordable Care Act) would improve the efficiency of its health care system but undoubtedly more Americans will be covered by the new health care system. If I have to say something for this most powerful country in the world, it would be they need to keep their military expenditure at the highest level since the situation in middle-east is really tight and in the meantime, Singapore, a small technology island, probably has nothing to do with it.
|
Country
|
(Healthy) Life expectancy (2011)
|
% of GDP on Health Care (2009)
|
Health Care Efficiency Index
|
|
|
|||
|
Singapore
|
82
|
4.1
|
20
|
|
India
|
65
|
4.2
|
15.47619048
|
|
China
|
76
|
5.1
|
14.90196078
|
|
Korea, South
|
81
|
6.9
|
11.73913043
|
|
Taiwan
|
76
|
6.9
|
11.01449275
|
|
Israel
|
82
|
7.6
|
10.78947368
|
|
Gambia
|
58
|
6.1
|
9.508196721
|
|
Japan
|
83
|
9.5
|
8.736842105
|
|
Italy
|
82
|
9.4
|
8.723404255
|
|
United Kingdom
|
80
|
9.8
|
8.163265306
|
|
Switzerland
|
83
|
11.4
|
7.280701754
|
|
Canada
|
82
|
11.4
|
7.192982456
|
|
Germany
|
81
|
11.7
|
6.923076923
|
|
France
|
82
|
11.9
|
6.890756303
|
|
Denmark
|
79
|
11.5
|
6.869565217
|
|
United States
|
79
|
17.6
|
4.488636364
|
Sources:
- Life expectancy: Life expectancy by country http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.680?lang=en
- List of countries by total health expenditure (PPP) per capita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_%28PPP%29_per_capita
William Maguire
The biggest “financial waste, drain ” on Americas Healthcare system is the private insurance industry. I put most the blame for failure in the “role out ” of Obamacare squarely on the private insurance industry and and the so called “blue dog Democrats” who INSISTED that private insurance companies take their 25% cut of all medical spending and contribute very little. The reason for people “not being able to keep their insurance” and getting “dropped ” by the “good hands people” and others, is because these insurance companies can now sponge off the tax payer. They are now in the drivers seat and “call the shots.”
Billy Maguire
The Us Is actually 38th in the world in overall healthcare efficiency. From what I understand, people in Taiwan pay 1/10th what they pay in the US for healthcare and get similar world class care. Taiwanese live healthier lives, but, the US IS still lagging WAY behind most the industrialized world. I believe greed is the main cause for the ridiculous high cost of healthcare in the US.
linda kaffel
I have lived in Mexico for past 10 years. I am a U.S. citizen. I have had two heart attacks, my husband has had a knee replacement and recently, a hip replacement. We are thrilled to be living here…could not afford insurance in the states.
The care we have gotten from the hospitals, the doctors, nurses, is phenomenal. They treat you like family – they can’t do enough for you. The cost is a fraction of U.S. hospitals.
My husband’s surgeon drives over an hour every two weeks to our home to check on him – after his hip replacement. No extra charge.
Mexico has real and dedicated doctors who put the patient first….it’s not about the money; it’s about the service they can give and the care.
I can’t believe you did not list Mexico is a top-rated healthcare country and far superior to the U.S.
International Living recently published top 5 countries w/best healthcare for retired people. Mexico ranked #5.
I wi
Josh Byther
gambia, china and india have better health care?