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continued
the results are dramatically different. Life 
expectancy is approximately 75.4 years, 
while preventable mortality is approxi-
mately 435 per 100,000 and treatable mor-
tality 230. Mexico demonstrates an impor-
tant point: Coverage is not the same thing 
as effective care. Simply giving someone a 
government entitlement to health care does 
not guarantee that they will receive timely, 
high-quality medical services.
So, Is American  
Health Care Bad?
The short answer is that American 
health care is not bad, but our delivery 
system could be improved and costs could 
be controlled. Contrary to the mostly free 
market approach in the U.S., virtually all 
of the countries cited in this article regulate 
and limit health care costs, prescription 
drug costs or both in one way or another. 
Despite the fact that health care costs in the 
U.S. are generally unchecked, the United 
States remains a world leader in medical 
research, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, 
medical devices and specialty care. On the 
clinical side, the Commonwealth Fund has 
highlighted the US as a strong performer 
in the ‘care process’ category, which 
measures preventive care, safety, patient 
engagement, and coordination.
The problem with health care in the U.S. is 
that the system that is supposed to ensure 
equitable access and delivery of that care 
falls short for many Americans. We spend 
more on health care and have significantly 
more administrative complexity than any 
other country. Additionally, patients face 
significant financial barriers, and providers 
spend enormous amounts of time dealing 
with billing and insurance requirements. In 
spite of our best efforts, 8.3% of the U.S. 
population (28 million Americans) are 
uninsured and lack meaningful access to 
health care. Moreover, we suffer from sub-
stantially higher rates of preventable and 
treatable mortality than citizens of several 
comparable countries. This is unacceptable 
by any standard.
What’s the solution?
If only there was a simple answer 
to this question. I don’t think the answer to 
fixing our broken health care system is to 
simply copy another country’s system. The 
U.S. is too large and too different eco-
nomically and politically for that to work. 
Instead, I think we should learn from what 
other countries are doing well and phase 
out things we’re not doing well.
The debate over American health care has 
become so politically polarized that we 
often forget what the system is supposed 
to accomplish. It isn’t supposed to indulge 
or reward one particular constituency (e.g., 
insurers, hospitals or pharmaceutical com-
panies), and it isn’t supposed to create and 
finance yet another government bureau-
cracy. It’s supposed to keep people healthy 
and treat them when they get sick.
If we can spend 17.2% of our nation’s 
GDP on health care and still have a life 
expectancy almost six years shorter than 
Japan and Switzerland, we have to ask a 
very uncomfortable question: Maybe the 
problem isn’t that America doesn’t spend 
enough on health care. Maybe we’re sim-
ply not getting enough health care for the 
money we’re spending.
WPMA News / Fall 2026	
 55
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