Human Services News

From The Commonwealth Fund:

The United States places last among 19 countries when it comes to deaths that could have been prevented by access to timely and effective health care, according to new research supported by The Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of Health Affairs.

In "Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis," Ellen Nolte and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine compare trends in deaths that could have been prevented by access to timely and effective health care.

Nolte and McKee found that while other countries made strides and saw these types of deaths decline by an average of 17%, the U.S. experienced only a 4% decline.

"It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the U.S.," said Nolte, lead author of the study.

The authors also note that "it is difficult to disregard the observation that the slow decline in U.S. amenable mortality has coincided with an increase in the uninsured population, an issue that is now receiving renewed attention in several states and among presidential candidates from both parties."

"It is startling to see the U.S. falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen.

The fact that other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less, indicates that policy, goals, and efforts to improve health systems make a difference."

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