Search

BLOG > NEWS 

America’s (Dismal) Health Rankings

One of the eternal embarrassments that Americans must endure is our relatively low ranking in the various global health indices.  Take, for example, the Legatum Prosperity Health Score used by the World Population Review publication, which combines health risks like average levels of high blood pressure, obesity and tobacco use; availability of clean water, malnutrition; different causes of death and the biggest one: average life expectancy of the citizens of each country.  The United States, ranked 69th overall in the latest ranking, with a 73.26 rating, well behind various European and Asian countries (Singapore ranked first with an 86.89 rating), slightly ahead of Algeria (73.22) and Tajikistan (72.45).

Other rankings look at the quality of healthcare in each country.  The U.S. has famously resisted ‘socialist medicine’ in favor of a system where for-profit insurance companies pay for-profit healthcare systems to manage our collective health.  When the World Population Review assessed the quality of, and access to medical doctors, hospitals, nursing care, physical and occupational therapy for the citizens of different countries, it found that Italians received the best overall healthcare in the world, with a health care index of 72.15.  Second place: Singapore, with a 67.22 ranking, followed by Iceland (65.15), Hong Kong (64.32), Finland (60.53), Taiwan (59,76), New Zealand (59.76), Australia (57.77), Monaco (57.65) and Norway (57.38).

You have to move down the list to find the United States, with a 51.34 ranking, nosing out North Macedonia (49.9), slightly behind Oman (52.24), Chile (51.61) and Saudi Arabia (52.35).  

The quality of healthcare is, of course, only one contribution to a country’s overall health.  The reports cited obesity as a negative issue in Americans’ rankings.

Source:

Did you find this article helpful? Share it!

ABOUT AUTHOR

Bob Veres

Bob Veres, a Financial Planning columnist in San Diego, is publisher of Inside Information, an information service for financial advisors.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this blog is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. Investment decisions should be based on your individual circumstances and objectives. Before making any investment decisions, you should consult with a qualified financial advisor, tax advisor, and/or attorney to determine what may be best for your individual situation.

Related Articles

Executive Compensation Bloat
Investing Insight
Bob Veres

Executive Compensation Bloat

We heard a lot about income inequality and the stagnating incomes of middle class Americans on the campaign trail last year, and Wall Street firms that mostly move money around rightly got some of the blame. But hardly anybody talked about how CEOs routinely loot the treasuries of their own

READ MORE
Market Commentary
Bob Veres

What a Market Top Looks Like

The current bull market in stocks will reach its 8th anniversary tomorrow, and for about the last four years, professional investors and financial planners have been scratching their heads. The markets have gone up and up and up, and we all know that they won’t go up forever, which means

READ MORE
Lifestyle
Bob Veres

Where the Traffic Goes

The World Wide Web casts a pretty large net: we now have more than 1.1 billion websites featuring 4.48 billion pages—up from one website in 1991. But when you look at web traffic, most of us actually visit one of the 100 most popular sites. Google controls four of those:

READ MORE