China's Healthcare Efficiency Sets Example for Global Health Systems

A recent global study has revealed China's remarkable healthcare efficiency, presenting a model for other nations aiming to enhance health outcomes while managing costs. The research, conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, analyzed health system inefficiency data from 201 countries spanning 28 years, from 1995 to 2022. The study focused on how effectively countries translate health spending into healthy life years, a crucial measure of population health.

The study's findings indicated that China was the only country to achieve zero inefficiency in 2022. This signifies that China maximized its healthcare spending to achieve the best possible health outcomes relative to its investment. The lead author of the study explained that a zero-inefficiency score indicates a country is effectively converting health spending into healthy life years.

The study highlighted significant contrasts, particularly with the United States. Despite having the highest per capita healthcare spending globally, the US exhibited an inefficiency gap of 6.2 healthy years in 2022. This means the US population's healthy life expectancy was 6.2 years below the best possible outcome, even after considering high levels of behavioral and metabolic risks. Possible factors contributing to US inefficiency include high administrative costs, low insurance coverage, a focus on curative rather than preventive care, high prices, and reliance on the private sector.

In contrast, China has maintained high healthcare efficiency for decades. The study showed that China had very efficient health spending since 1995, the first year for which data was available. The study emphasized that efficiency depends not just on how much countries spend, but also on how they spend it.

Researchers examined factors associated with more efficient healthcare spending, such as high vaccination rates, widespread use of prenatal care, low government corruption, and a larger share of health spending coming from public sources. The study noted the correlation between higher efficiency and strong preventive care measures. Scaling up these programs is a measure that governments may be able to implement fairly quickly.

Improving healthcare efficiency benefits everyone, from governments to individuals. Cost savings would likely encourage people to use more healthcare, which would lead to better health for the population. Better health improves quality of life and leads to higher economic growth, as people in good health are more productive.