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New Studies Report: U.S. Patients Spending More on Health Care But Getting Less

May 19, 2004

"It is somewhat outrageous that we spend $1.4 trillion on health care and get it right only half the time."

These are the words of Elizabeth A. McGlynn, the lead author of a recent study that compares the quality of health care of 7,000 patients in 12 U.S. communities. The study, conducted by the widely respected Rand Corporation, reversed the findings of earlier ones that showed a disparity in health care quality between relatively wealthy communities and those with lower per capita income. Rand reported that Americans, regardless of where they live or whether they have health insurance, receive the wrong medical treatment between 50 to 60 percent of the time. The misdiagnoses or improper treatments result in needless pain, cost and death.

The Rand study was released simultaneously with two other health care investigations that were published in the journal Health Affairs. The first study compared the treatment of illness in five countriesAustralia, Canada, Britain, New Zealand and the United States. Researchers compared the survival rates of patients who suffered from such diseases as cancer, leukemia, asthma and diabetes.

Gerard Anderson of the Johns Hopkins Universitys school of public health, one of the researchers, stated: "None of the five countries...is consistently the best or the worst on all 21 indicators." England, for example has a breast cancer survival rate that is 14 percent lower than the United States. The United States, however is the only country in which deaths from asthma have increased. Anderson said: "The United States should be particularly concerned about these results, given that we spend twice as much on health care as any other country. So spending more doesnt necessarily result in better outcomes."

The third study quantified the per capita spending on health care in 2001 of 20 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The United States spent $4,887 per capita compared to $2,792 in Canada, $2,513 in Australia and $1,992 in Britain.

U.S. health care reform is a major subject of debate as the nation approaches the 2004 Presidential election. Democratic nominee John Kerry supports a plan to give all Americans access to the same healthcare benefit available to members of Congress. He proposes a 75% tax credit to help workers who are between jobs afford health insurance. He also would permit the re-importation of drugs from Canada.

President Bush has supported the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, widely criticized by the Alliance for Retired Americans and most senior citizen groups. They say that the plan brings a bloated bureaucracy and more concern for the profits of pharmaceutical company than for protecting the savings of seniors. The groups have also expressed deep concern that the bill is as a step on the road to Medicare privatization.

Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) has introduced HR 676, a bill that would establish a not-for-profit health care system in the United States. The conversion from the current health care system to the not-for-profit model would take place over a 15- year period through the sale of U.S. treasury bonds.

Health Affairs Web site

The United States National Health Insurance Act - Executive Summary

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