The 2011 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey Results

Increasing Costs in U.S. Health Care Spending and Challenges in Access to Care

Summarized by Emily Ferreira 

The results of the 2011 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey have been released. The survey included a sample size of 18,667 adults age 18 and older from 11 different countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States) in efforts to identify "sicker" adults, where they met at least one of the four criteria:

• rated their health as fair or poor
• reported receiving medical care for serious chronic illness, injury or disability in the past year
• had surgery
• had been hospitalized in the past two years

They study shows that the U.S. far outpaces other countries in terms of health care spending and costs, with health care spending averaging around 17% of the national GDP in 2009. One of the key issues highlighted in the survey is that sicker adults in the U.S. (the 30% population that accounts for 89% of total health care spending) are often not getting the appropriate care, with 42% reporting that they skipped care due to costs. Also of note is the impact of medical homes (defined as an accessible primary care practice that knows their medical history and helps coordinate care) on care received by sicker adults in the U.S. with 80% reporting a positive doctor-patient relationship and communication for those with medical homes compared to 41% for those without. Usage of medical homes in the U.S. also showed a decrease in coordination gaps in the past two years: 54% of those without medical homes reported lack of availability of records/results, failure of providers to share information and duplication of tests while only 33% with medical homes experienced this.

The study continues to prove that health care cost in the U.S. is a concern and a barrier for some trying to receive adequate care. In addition, we learned that "sicker" adults who received care through a medical home reported a higher overall satisfaction with care, stronger relationships with their physician and a decline in medical errors and test duplication.