WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan health policy think tank in Washington, has given U.S. healthcare a rating of 66 out of 100 -- the equivalent of a "D."
The think tank analyzed different areas of healthcare to measure the composite score, WebMD reported Thursday. The United States healthcare system earned a 71 in quality, 67 in access, 51 in efficiency and 71 in equity.
"To me the message is clear. We can do much better and we need to do much better," said James Mongan, chairman of the commission that issued the report.
The commission said the United States spends far more on healthcare than many other industrialized nations but the system lags behind those countries because inefficiency and lack of equity lead to wasted resources.
The Commonwealth Fund also reported that one-third of U.S. citizens have outstanding medical debt and fewer than 20 percent of U.S. doctors keep records electronically.
