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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  • Kaiser/UNAIDS Study Finds Dip in Donor Government Commitments for AIDS In 2013

    News Release

    Actual Disbursements in 2013 Increased 8% As Some Funds from Earlier Years Were Spent MELBOURNE, Australia -- Donor governments in 2013 committed US$8.1 billion in new funding to support the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries, down 3 percent from 2012, finds a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released in advance of the 2014 International AIDS Conference. The drop in new commitments occurred…

  • Donor Government Assistance for Family Planning in 2012

    Report

    This report establishes a baseline level of donor government funding for family planning activities in 2012 that can be used to track total international assistance funding levels for family planning over time as well as commitments donor governments made at last year's London Summit on Family Planning. It finds donor governments provided about US$900 million in bilateral funding for family planning programs in 2012, and an additional US$432 million in core contributions to the United…

  • Kaiser/UNAIDS Study Finds No Real Change In Donor Funding For HIV

    News Release

    This report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) evaluates international efforts to finance the response to the AIDS epidemic. The annual funding analysis finds donor governments disbursed US$7.86 billion toward the AIDS response in low-and middle-income countries in 2012, essentially unchanged from the US$7.63 billion level in 2011 after adjusting for inflation.

  • Health Care Costs: A Primer

    Issue Brief

    This primer on health care spending in the United States reviews the growth in health care spending since 1970 and the impact of health care costs on families and employers.

  • Pharmaceutical Policy and Pricing: Are Other Countries Getting Greater Value?

    Event Date:
    Event

    Spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. rose at a faster clip in 2009 than spending for hospital and physician care, a trend that is expected to continue through 2020. The desire to get a handle on drug spending is a focus not only in the U.S. but in other countries as well. What are some strategies used in our country and in the UK, Germany and France to control pharmaceutical spending? How well are…

  • Investing in Health IT: What the U.S. and Other Countries Are Learning

    Event Date:
    Event

    Recent legislation, including the stimulus package and the new health reform law, invests substantial funds in health information technology which can help prevent medical errors and improve the quality and value of care. However, questions have been raised about the cost of implementation and personal privacy considerations. This briefing addressed questions such as: What have the U.S. and other countries learned from their experience with health IT? How is the adoption of this technology progressing…

  • KFF/UNAIDS Report Finds Donor Nation Support for AIDS Relief Was Flat in 2009 During World Economic Crisis, With US$7.6 Billion Provided During the Year

    News Release

    VIENNA, Austria – Overall support for global AIDS efforts from donor nations flattened in the midst of last year’s global economic crisis, according to a new analysis of 2009 funding levels from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In 2009, the Group of Eight nations, European Commission (EC) and other donor governments provided US$7.6 billion for AIDS relief in developing nations, compared with US$7.7 billion disbursed in…

  • The Role of Independent Commissions in Controlling Costs and Enhancing Value: International Lessons

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund co-sponsored this briefing to examine the quasi-governmental authorities that Germany, the Netherlands and France have established to control health care costs, oversee quality, and regulate insurance and provider payment. How and why have these quasi-governmental authorities come into being? What is their scope of power, and the mechanism they provide for bringing stakeholders together in health care decision making? What are the respective roles of government…