A recent article in The Guardian is headlined “US health system ranks last compared with peer nations, report finds”. I won’t link to that article, as I don’t like to give clicks to that largely transphobic media source.
I will, however, link directly to the referenced study. It is titled “Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System“. Not subtle at all.
Conclusion: The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector. While the other nine countries differ in the details of their systems and in their performance on domains, unlike the U.S., they all have found a way to meet their residents’ most basic health care needs, including universal coverage.
This is not a new revelation. Many years ago, I was writing about the failed US healthcare system. I wrote the first of several referenced articles, originally published at DailyKos, back in November of 2008. That was shortly after my wife, Barbara, was hospitalized for the ruptured colon that ultimately killed her. Lupus was the reason for that event. It had also caused her to be on oxygen 24/7 for the rest of her life, beginning a couple of years earlier.
There have been some improvements in the now almost 16 years since I wrote that first article. The ACA (Obamacare as it’s colloquially known) eliminated rejection, higher rates, and waiting periods for pre-existing conditions. It created the Health Insurance Marketplace which helps Americans get coverage who could not otherwise.
More recently, insulin is now capped at $35 per month under Medicare. Medicare is now also negotiating some drug prices, and the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D drug coverage ceases to exist in 2025.
So it’s not all bad news. Things have gotten better. And yet, per the above mentioned report: “In fulfilling this fundamental obligation, the U.S. continues to fail.” As I said way back in 2008, it’s time this nation undertook universal health care. Only then will we finally join the other developed nations of the world in providing quality and access to all Americans. Rant over.
The journey continues.
An Aging Trans Woman 
Yes! Health care should be part of US infrastructure!
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