OECD says USA needs health care reform

In spite of improvements, on various measures of health outcomes, the USA appears to rank relatively poorly among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Health expenditures, in contrast, are significantly higher than in any other member nation, claims an economic survey of the USA from the OECD.

It notes discrepancies between health outcomes and expenditures in the USA, citing: inequitable access to medical services and subsidized private insurance policies; and inefficiencies in public health insurance. It then suggests two sets of reforms likely to improve the US health care system. The first is a package of reforms to achieve close to universal health insurance coverage. The second relates to payment methods and coverage decisions within the Medicare program to realign incentives and increase the extent of economic evaluation of different medical procedures.