Medical Robbery

In a previous post I used life expectancy and infant mortality figures to show that the price gouging is not getting us better healthcare. A survey of eleven advanced countries by the Commonwealth Fund, besides corroborating the high costs of American healthcare in comparison to other rich countries, shows that the level of service in America leaves something to be desired. Among its findings the US ranked:

• second worst in getting a same-day or next-day appointment
• third worst in having to wait six or more days for an appointment
• third worst on hearing back on the same day after calling a doctor
• the worst in making arrangements for after-hours service with a doctor or nurse
• the worst in having to use the emergency room in the past two years
• the worst in being able to email the doctor's practice with questions
• the worst on spending for health insurance administration
• the worst in the number of respondents indicating the system worked well

Perhaps some of this poor service is explained by the fact that in the OECD (the club of advanced countries referred to before) there are on average 3.2 physicians per 1,000 people. In the US there are only 2.5. To hit average we would need over 230,000 more doctors in the country.