International Comparisons


A promotional image for the the KFF Health Policy 101 International Comparison of Health Systems chapter

Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The International Comparison of Health Systems chapter explores the performance of the U.S. health system on a number of cost, outcomes, and quality measures by comparing it with those in similarly large and wealthy OECD nations. It highlights that despite significant spending, Americans have shorter life expectancies and encounter more barriers to health care, influenced by both the health system's structure and broader socioeconomic factors. View the Chapter →


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  • New Animated Video Provides an Engaging Look at the Cost and Quality of the Nation’s Health System

    News Release

    A new animated video on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker provides an engaging “check-up” of the nation’s health system, addressing questions of whether it’s getting better or worse and how it compares to other countries. Health of the Healthcare System, produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, draws on the most up-to-date, reliable data to offer an easy-to-understand portrait of cost, quality and access to health care in the United States. Julie Rovner, a veteran health reporter…

  • Health of the Healthcare System

    Video

    Health of the Healthcare System is a diagnostic look at the state of our healthcare system. How does the U.S. healthcare system compare to health systems of other high-income countries, and how has it fared over time? Kaiser Health News and former-NPR reporter, Julie Rovner, takes us through a check-up of our system by assessing four key areas: how healthy we are, the quality of care we receive, how much it costs, and how accessible…

  • Donor Government International Funding for Family Planning Increased By 9 Percent In 2014

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that donor governments provided US$1.4 billion in bilateral funding for family planning programs in low- and middle-income countries in 2014 – a 9 percent increase from 2013 and a 32 percent increase from 2012. The U.S. was the largest donor, providing US$637 million, nearly half of all bilateral funding for family planning programs in 2014. The U.K. (US$328 million) was the second largest bilateral donor, followed by the Netherlands…

  • Donor Government Assistance for Family Planning in 2014

    Report

    This report finds that donor governments provided US$1.4 billion in bilateral funding for family planning programs in low- and middle-income countries in 2014 – a 9 percent increase above 2013 and 32% above 2012 levels.

  • Measuring the Quality of Healthcare in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    The quality of the U.S. health system is improving in many areas, but comparable countries continue to outperform the United States on key measures. In this brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation compile an overall picture of health care quality in the United States, using the best available data from numerous sources on health outcomes, quality of care, and access to services.

  • US Improving in Health Care Quality, But Still Lagging Behind Other Countries, New Analysis Finds

    News Release

    A new brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker finds that the quality of the U.S. health system is improving in many areas, but comparable countries continue to outperform the United States on key measures. Analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation compiled an overall picture of health care quality in the United States, using the best available data from numerous sources on health outcomes, quality of care, and access to services. The brief, Measuring the…

  • Kaiser/UNAIDS Study Finds Slight Increase In Donor Government Funding for AIDS In 2014

    News Release

    Increase Mainly Due to U.K.; However, Funding from Half of Fourteen Donor Governments Declined As world leaders meet to discuss global financing for development, a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) finds that although there was a slight increase in funding to respond to HIV in low- and middle-income countries in 2014, seven of 14 donor governments actually decreased funding, two remained flat and funding…

  • What do we know about the burden of disease in the United States?

    Feature

    This slideshow examines disease burden in the United States and comparable countries as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which take into account years of life lost due to premature death and years of productive life lost to poor health or disability. Although the U.S. disease burden rate dropped 14 percent between 1990 and 2010. comparable countries saw an average decrease of 18 percent. In the United States, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders are…

  • How do mortality rates in the U.S. compare to other countries?

    Feature

    This slideshow compares mortality rates in the United States and other industrialized countries for seven major causes of death. The data show that U.S. mortality rates for circulatory diseases and cancer have fallen in the past 30 years, driving a decline in the nation's overall rate. However, mortality rates for leading causes of death other than cancer are higher in the United States than the average for comparable countries.

  • How do U.S. healthcare resources compare to other countries?

    Feature

    This slideshow examines the U.S. health care system and its resources in comparison with other industrialized countries. The data examine the relative number of hospital beds, doctors and nurses in the U.S. and other countries, as well as the availability and use of MRI machines as an example of medical technology.