We spend more, but are Americans healthier than people in other countries?

Americans spend nearly twice what residents in other high-income countries pay for healthcare. Does that mean we are healthier?

Apparently, not.

A report by the Commonwealth Fund compared data from the U.S. with 19 other countries and found the United States ranked near the bottom on life expectancy, affordability and the availability of primary care doctors.

“The U.S. has long prided itself on having the best healthcare in the world, but the population benefits from this excellence unevenly, and it remains largely out of reach for many Americans. This causes us to lag, not lead, when we compare our health outcomes to other nations,” said Commonwealth Fund President Joseph R. Betancourt in an article published by Medical Economics.

In 2024, the U.S. devoted 18% of its gross domestic product to healthcare – nearly twice the average of the other countries. Yet American life expectancy reached just 79 years, among the shortest of high-income countries studied.

Life expectancy in Japan, Spain and Switzerland outpaced the U.S. by nearly five years. Only Mexico and Turkey fared worse.

Analysts also found the U.S. has just 0.3 primary care physicians per 1,000 people – less than a third of the average of the other countries.

The report attributes the shortage to high medical school tuition, limited residency training slots, chronic underinvestment in primary care, and physician burnout — a combination that has compressed the supply of physicians while demand continues to grow.

Meanwhile, high costs drive many in the U.S. to delay or skip care altogether. Americans spend more than $400 out-of-pocket each year on prescription drugs, compared with less than $100 in France.

What about you?  Are you or someone in your household spending more on healthcare without getting the results you expect? Share your experience with Voices for Affordable Health.