THE U.S. IS LAST IN PREVENTABLE DEATHS

(h/t billw at Crooks & Liars, Paul Krugman's Blog)

The Commonwealth Fund supported another study of health care in advanced countries and the U.S. came in 19th of 19. The study "compared international rates of "amenable mortality"—that is, deaths from certain causes before age 75 that are potentially preventable with timely and effective health care."

Here's the basic result:



If the graphic is hard to read, here's some of the accompanying text:

In addition to the U.S., the study included 14 Western European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

U.S. Ranks Last

Between 1997–98 and 2002–03, amenable mortality fell by an average of 16 percent in all countries except the U.S., where the decline was only 4 percent. In 1997–98, the U.S. ranked 15th out of the 19 countries on this measure—ahead of only Finland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Ireland—with a rate of 114.7 deaths per 100,000 people. By 2002–03, the U.S. fell to last place, with 109.7 per 100,000. In the leading countries, mortality rates per 100,000 people were 64.8 in France, 71.2 in Japan, and 71.3 in Australia.

The largest reductions in amenable mortality were seen in countries with the highest initial levels, including Portugal, Finland, Ireland, and the U.K, but also in some higher-performing countries, like Australia and Italy. In contrast, the U.S. started from a relatively high level of amenable mortality but experienced smaller reductions.