Commonwealth Fund Report on U.S. Health System Finds No Overall Improvements In Last Two Years
July 22, 2008
Commonwealth Fund Report on U.S. Health System Finds No Overall Improvements In Last Two Years

 According to a scorecard released July 17, 2008 by the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. health care system is showing no sign of improvement and sharp declines in access to care. As of 2007, more than 75 million adults, 42% percent, were either uninsured during the year or underinsured, up from 35% in 2003. Additionally, 75% of adults under 65 live in states where employer-sponsored insurance premiums exceed 15% of median household income, up from 42% in 2006. The report, “Why Not the Best? Results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2008,” shares scores on 37 indicators of health system performance within 5 categories: healthy lives, quality, access, equity, and efficiency. The scorecard benchmarks U.S. average performance against the top-performing entities in the United States and top performing health-systems internationally. The highest possible score of 100 for each indicator would mean that the US as a whole is performing near the same level of the top-performers in the states and internationally. Though the U.S. spends twice per capita on health care what other industrialized nations do, it continues to perform far below others and far below what report authors challenge is acceptable given the resources invested. This year the US scored an overall 65 out of 100 across all indicators showing no overall improvement since the 2006 scorecard. Notably, health system efficiency scores regarding administrative insurance costs, use of electronic medical records, and use of emergency room for non-emergency conditions were some of the lowest scores obtained.

For more information and to download a copy of the report, please visit http://commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=692682.