Commonwealth Fund: U.S. weak on health care quality, access, affordability

The report concluded that these weaknesses in the American health system are having a "profound effect" on the overall health of the nation's population.  

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Healthcare System Lags Other Countries On Quality, Access
The U.S. healthcare system is lagging further and further behind other industrialized countries on major measures of quality, efficiency and access to care, according to a new report from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, a leading health policy foundation. That is having a profound effect on overall health in the U.S., the report found (Levey, 10/18).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Needs Improvement: U.S. Health Care Not Getting Better, Report Finds
After looking at 42 indicators of health care quality, access, cost and other values, the fund gave the U.S. a score of 64 out of 100 on its performance when comparing the nation to the best performing countries, states, regions or health care plans. That was slightly below the 67 the country scored in 2006, the first scorecard the fund issued, and the 65 score the U.S. received in 2008 (Rau, 10/18).

St. Louis Beacon: U.S. Health System Is Improving But Fails To Measure Up To Other Industrialized Nations
The scorecard makes these points: The United States lags in avoiding preventable deaths.  ... At least 7 percent of national health expenditures is used for insurance administration, compared to 1.9 percent in Japan, 2.1 percent in France, 3.6 percent in Australia and 3.9 percent in Austria. ... About 51 percent of adults receive recommended screening and preventive care.  ... Medicare programs could save more than $4.2 billion a year by reducing hospitalizations for preventable conditions  (Joiner, 10/18).

Modern Healthcare: U.S. System Weak On Affordability, Access: Commonwealth Report
The U.S. healthcare system is faltering in areas such as affordability and access, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System. In its third annual report, Why Not the Best? Results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2011, the commission gave the nation's healthcare system a grade of 64 out of a possible 100 (McKinney, 10/18).

National Journal: U.S. Health Care System Losing Ground, Group Reports
The U.S. health care system still scores a not-quite-good-enough, failing to save lives that could easily have been saved and racking up enormous bills with little to show for it, according to a report released on Tuesday. There are some elements in the 2010 health care law that may eventually improve things, but overall, the United States is not getting better, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System found (Fox, 10/18).

McClatchy: U.S. Health Care Falls Farther Behind Peers, Report Finds
The U.S. health care system is lagging further and further behind other industrialized countries on major measures of quality, efficiency and access to care, according to a new report from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, a leading health policy foundation. That is having a profound effect on overall health in the U.S., the report found. Americans die far more frequently than their counterparts in other countries as a result of preventable or treatable conditions, such as bacterial infections, screenable cancers, diabetes and complications from surgery (Levey, 10/18).