"Four undeniable signs the U.S. health care system is broken"
NBC News interviewed Dr. Thomas Rice about how the U.S. healthcare system and results compare to those of other wealthy countries.
Over two-thirds of Americans believe they pay too much for the quality of health care they receive, according to a 2021 West Health-Gallup Poll. Almost half of Americans feel even worse about the U.S. health care system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost one-third of Americans said they avoided seeking treatment within the past three months due to the high cost of health care.
Clearly, the American health care system isn't working in a way that helps people. Here are four signs that something needs to change.
Americans spend more on health care than any other people — about one-sixth of our nation’s GDP. According to Thomas Rice, Ph.D., at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, our health care expenses are double that of other wealthy nations, like Germany, Japan and the U.K.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.
Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.
Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.
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