Healthcare: US can learn from Israel

A recently survey by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund compared the US system with those in Canada, Germany, Australia, Holland, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. All of these countries, like Israel (which was not included), have universal health insurance for all residents. Despite paying almost double (17.5 percent of its gross domestic product, compared to 8% in Israel) for medical care, the US ranks below the rest in access for its whole population. The survey found that half of all American adults suffering from chronic illness do without recommended tests, treatments or follow- up care. Americans are most likely to get the wrong dose of medication or the wrong medication than the others and to go unnecessarily to a hospital emergency department for something that their primary care physician or specialist in a community clinic could have done. Health spending per US resident has gone beyond $7,500 a year, compared to $3,000 in the UK and $3,350 in Australia.