The United States has one of the most advanced economies yet has one of the most inefficient healthcare systems, a study by U.S. and Canadian researchers found.
Dr. Jody Heymann, the study's senior author and dean of the University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, and first author Douglas Barthold, a doctoral candidate at McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues found the U.S. healthcare system ranked 22nd out of 27 high-income nations when analyzed for its efficiency of turning dollars spent into extending lives.
For example, every additional $100 spent on healthcare in the United States translated into a gain of less than half a month of life expectancy, while in Germany, every additional $100 spent translated into more than four months of increased life expectancy, the study said.
Last year, Americans spent $2.65 trillion on healthcare, more than double the rate of any other developed nation.
The study used data from 27 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development over 17 years -- 1991 to 2007.
In addition, the researchers discovered significant gender disparities within countries.
"Out of the 27 high-income nations we studied, the United States ranks 25th when it comes to reducing women's deaths," Heymann said in a statement. "The country's efficiency of investments in reducing men's deaths is only slightly better, ranking 18th."
Men have experienced greater life expectancy gains than women per health dollar spent within nearly every country, Barthold said.
The report's findings bring to light several questions, the researchers said. How is it possible for the United States to have one of the most advanced economies yet one of the most inefficient healthcare systems? And, while the U.S. healthcare system is performing so poorly for men, why is it performing even worse for women?
The exact causes of the gender gap are unknown, the researchers said.
The findings were published in the "First Look" section of the American Journal of Public Health.