We're #11: US gets poor scores in international health system comparison

The 2010 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey finds the US lags other rich countries in health care system performance. It won't be a big surprise to hear that the US stands out for the high number of patients having trouble paying for health care and foregoing care due to cost. But a few other findings stand out from the survey of 11 countries:

• 31 percent of people in the US report spending lots of time with insurance paperwork. Other countries with competitive insurance markets (e.g., Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany) have rates about half of that
• Even people in the US with health insurance run into problems paying for health care. That's untrue in other countries
• 70 percent of adults in the UK  and 93 percent in Switzerland say they get same day or next day access to doctors when sick. The comparable number in the US is just 57 percent
• Countries like New Zealand, the Netherlands and UK have easy access to after-hours care. Not so in the US
• Looking on the bright side, the US is near the top in quick access to specialists

Read more about it here.