How Does U.S. Healthcare Quality Measure Up Against Other Wealthy Nations?

By
Imani Telesford
Lynne Cotter
Emma Wager
Cynthia Cox
October 23, 2026

Kaiser Family Foundation

Overview

The chart collection compares U.S. health system performance with that of similarly large and wealthy nations across outcomes, treatment, patient safety, and capacity. The United States spends nearly twice as much per person as comparable countries but has lower life expectancy; performance varies across individual measures, with some outcomes similar to or better than peers.

Background

International comparisons assess health system quality using measures that include health outcomes, treatment results, patient safety, and system capacity. The source describes lower U.S. life expectancy despite substantially higher per-capita spending than in comparable wealthy nations. It also reports that U.S. performance is not uniform across indicators: some measures are worse than peers, while others are similar or better. The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker provides an online hub for monitoring and assessing U.S. health system performance.

Data Highlights

Measure	U.S. comparison reported in source
Per-capita healthcare spending	Nearly double that of comparable wealthy nations
Life expectancy	Lower than in peer countries
Selected outcomes and capacity	Worse on maternal mortality, congestive heart failure hospital admissions, obstetric trauma with instrument, and general practitioner rate
Other treatment and safety measures	Similar to or better than peers for 30-day mortality after acute hospital treatment and some post-operative complications

Key Findings

The United States spends nearly twice as much per capita on healthcare as comparable wealthy nations, while U.S. life expectancy is lower.
The source reports worse U.S. performance on long-term health outcomes, including life expectancy.
Among selected treatment outcomes, the United States fares worse on maternal mortality and congestive heart failure hospital admissions.
On the patient-safety indicator of obstetric trauma with instrument, U.S. performance is worse than that of peer nations.
The rate of general practitioners is identified as a health system capacity measure on which the United States fares worse than peers.
U.S. performance is similar to or better than peers on 30-day mortality after acute hospital treatment and some post-operative complication measures.

Clinical Implications

The source presents comparative performance as measure-specific: U.S. results are worse on several outcomes and capacity indicators, but similar to or better on selected treatment and safety measures. The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker is identified as an online resource for monitoring and assessing these comparisons.

Conclusion

The comparison describes a U.S. health system with substantially higher per-capita spending and lower life expectancy than peer nations, alongside mixed performance across specific quality indicators. Results depend on the measure examined.