Posted At Denverpost.com

BY : DenverPost.com

Americans take pride in getting the most for their money, but our reputation fails us when it comes to health care. We pay more than we should for services that aren't as good as they should be.

Studies have shown repeatedly that the U.S. spends more of its economic output on health care than comparable nations but those dollars don't buy any better results on such indicators as life expectancy and infant mortality.

Now, fresh research has tapped the experiences of real people in six nations. The Commonwealth Fund commissioned a survey last spring of 6,957 adults who'd been hospitalized, had surgery or reported health problems in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain and New Zealand. While their systems vary, all but the U.S. have universal coverage. In the U.S., more than 15 percent are uninsured. And while some Americans take pride that we don't have "socialized medicine," it's no secret that about 65 percent of our health care costs are paid with public money.

The study didn't rank the nations, and survey results found problems in each one. But the study did find, as The Washington Post put it, that "the United States stood out for having the highest error rates, most disorganized care and highest costs."

Some specific findings:

Thirty-four percent of U.S. respondents reported getting wrong drugs, improper treatment or wrong or delayed lab tests. Other nations ranged from 22 to 30 percent.

A third of U.S. patients reported spending more than $1,000 out of pocket for care.

Half of the Americans surveyed said they'd had to forgo treatment or drugs because of cost. Percentages in the other nations ranged from 13 to 38.

America hasn't had a serious conversation about health costs since the early 1990s, and it's past time we did, given that growth of medical costs continue to outpace the rise in overall consumer prices and the risk to U.S. companies who are seeing health expenses spiral out of control.

Current ideas like health care savings accounts and electronic medical records have value, but they provide no overall solution.

Colorado's U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and his Arizona colleague, John McCain, last week called for a bipartisan commission to recommend health care reforms.

Policymakers should realize the nation needs some form of universal coverage combined with major administrative efficiencies. Given the way the government mishandled the Medicare prescription drug plan, and given the current political disarray in Washington, we're not optimistic about prospects for change soon. But Salazar and McCain should press their idea, and corporate leaders should chime in too. Maybe then the president and others in Congress will start listening.