Research reveals Australia has better healthcare system than the US

US President Donald Trump and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as the President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim (R) looks on after the family picture on the first day of the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. Reuters/Ludovic Marin/Pool

A group of American researchers have concluded that Australia's healthcare system was the second best in the developed world. Meanwhile, they labelled their own country's system among the worst.

New York-based Commonwealth Fund researchers looked into 11 different national health care models. They agreed that Australia's mixed public-private system was among the best in the world that could offer essential lessons to the US and other countries. They learned that the abest system in the world is United Kingdom's National Health Service. Australia followed the ranking, then the Netherlands. New Zealand and Norway are both on the fourth rank.

Although among the best in the developed world, Commonwealth Fund study's authors noted that Australia was below average on equity. It was ranked behind the UK, the Netherland, New Zealand and Germany, while it was ahead of the United States, France and Canada.

As for the US, researchers said their homeland “performs relatively poorly on population health outcomes.” These include life expectancy at age 60 and infant mortality.

"The US has the highest rate of mortality amenable to health care and has experienced the smallest reduction in that measure during the past decade,” they wrote. The researchers called the US’ performance “lacklustre” even though it spends almost twice as much as other countries.

In a press conference alongside Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in May, US President Donald Trump suggested that Australia's system was better than the US, saying his country has a “failing healthcare.” He added, "And I shouldn't say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia, because you have better healthcare than we do."

The analysis comes as the POTUS urges Republican senators to repeal the healthcare reforms by his predecessor Barack Obama. House Republicans have narrowly voted through the Obamacare repeal bill in May. Trump said his reforms will make America's healthcare system work better. He argued that “Obamacare has wreaked havoc” on the lives of Americans and warned the calamity will get worse if it is not replaced.

But some experts believe the Obamacare repeal bill will not improve the US healthcare system. University of Sydney’s Lesley Russell said it was clear Obamacare has made a substantial difference to several people who have health insurance, ABC reports.

Russell reportedly pointed out that the Senate Republican proposals will only take health insurance away from 23 million people. It is also expected leave at least 28 million Americans who were not reached by Obamacare without coverage.

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