Study: Healthcare spending up, quality rates down, less access

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July 23, 2008

A new study by the Commonwealth Fund, which first surveyed the U.S.'s healthcare in 2006, shows that access to quality healthcare is down across the country as are quality rates, reports The Washington Post. In addition, the U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other industrialized nation in the world. Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis said that affordable healthcare needs to be available to all citizens of the U.S., and the system by which doctors are paid needs to be changed to reward quality care.

The report called Why Not The Best? Results From The National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2008 shows that the U.S. scored a 65 out of a possible 100 when complying with national and international benchmarks. The report shows that even in areas in which the U.S. improved, other countries improved more rapidly.

To read the story, click here.