September 15 ,2009

The Answer: It depends what measurement you are using.

According to a study produced by Health Affairs, the U.S. ranks fourteenth in the world in preventable deaths. Critics of America's health care system will take solace in the fact that the U.S. is falling farther and farther behind. "The decline in amenable mortality in all countries averaged 16 percent (during the five year period studied). The United States was an outlier, with a decline of only 4 percent. The authors 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."

According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. health care system fares even worse--if, that is, you count other measurements such as fairness in financial contribution, responsiveness, and so forth-- Number 37--ranking behind Chile, Colombia, Portugal and a number of other countries that are not exactly economic powerhouses. When it comes to the health of the population, the U.S. staggers in at number 72!

Finally, actor/musician Paul Hipp uses the WHO ranking in his paean (below) to the U.S. health care system, "We're Number 37."