How does the quality of the U.S. health care system compare to other countries?

This chart collection compare health outcomes, quality of care, and access to services between the U.S. and peer countries. While inconsistent and imperfect metrics make it difficult to firmly assess system-wide health quality in the U.S., a review of the available data prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that in most of these measures, the U.S. has lagged behind comparably large and wealthy countries.

As rates of all-cause mortality, maternal mortality, and years of life lost have stagnated or increased in the U.S. over time, the gap in the health outcomes has widened between the U.S. and those of its peers.

The chart collection is part of the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.

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Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.