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The aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic has had a serious impact on global healthcare resources, making access to medical care even more important than ever, no matter what country you live in.
Countries that saw the highest cases of the COVID-19 virus tended to have higher healthcare expenditures than other countries. With a rise in more and more patients being diagnosed, waiting lists grew exponentially, resulting in individuals spending more time in waiting rooms for major surgeries with debilitating health problems.
We felt it was incredibly important to address the global response to healthcare, two years on from the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to seek out the best healthcare countries in the world, as well as the best states to access medical care in the US.
We will look into global data that reveal the countries with the highest healthcare spending and life expectancy, as well as the countries that have the shortest hospital waiting times. By looking into the above medical factors, we will reveal the best healthcare countries in the world.
Before we commence the Best Healthcare Countries, here at NiceRx, we work with your healthcare provider to help you access affordable medications directly from U.S. pharmaceutical companies, including popular brand name medications like Eliquis, Xarelto, Jardiance and Januvia.
To begin, we will look into US healthcare expenditure by state. These states had the highest healthcare spending based on a number of different healthcare needs including hospital care, physician care, dental, and many more. Our findings are based on 2020 data.
$174 billion
California had by far the highest healthcare spending in 2020 than any other state, with a total cost of close to $174,123 billion. The highest healthcare costs were for Personal Health Care which came to a grand total of $87 billion.
California and the rest of the country are in the midst of a healthcare affordability crisis. The Golden State has made efforts to get a grip on skyrocketing healthcare costs. Residents in California with robust medical insurance have even struggled with hospital bills and affording medication. In 2021, it was reported that half of Californians skipped or postponed medical care because of costs.
$131 billion
The state of New York had the second highest healthcare spending in 2020, with a total cost of $131 billion. The highest costs were for Personal Health Care which came to total spending of $65.5 billion.
New York’s healthcare spending overall and per capita are among the highest in the nation, and it has accelerated over time and is projected to rapidly increase during inflation and overall economic growth.
Employer-based health insurance in New York has typically cost more than the rest of the country, but it's becoming increasingly more expensive than most of the rest of the country.
$76 billion
Texas had the third highest healthcare spending in the year of 2020, with a grand total of $75,869 billion. The highest costs were spent on Personal Healthcare which came to a total spending of $37.9 billion.
Healthcare in Texas is one of the largest items on the state budget, and has become a significant challenge for lawmakers, who must find ways to deal with the rising costs of medical services.
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We also wanted to explore which states had the lowest healthcare cost in the United States. These states had the lowest overall healthcare spending per capita.
$1.20 billion
Wyoming was the state with the lowest overall healthcare expenditure in 2020, with total annual spending of $1.2 billion. The highest healthcare spending was based on Personal Health Care with a cost of $601 billion.
$1.79 billion
The state of South Dakota had the second lowest healthcare expenditure in 2020, with total annual spending of almost $1.8 billion. The highest amount of spending was on Personal Health Care with a cost of $899 billion.
$2.41 billion
Closely followed behind South Dakota is North Dakota, with the third lowest healthcare expenditure in 2020. The total annual spending was $2.41 billion. The budget was mostly spent on Personal Health Care with a total cost of $1,209 billion.
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We will now explore a different take on healthcare in the US, by looking into each state’s life expectancy at birth, sex, race, and in the past. We found that life expectancy in some states has fallen in recent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the states with the longest life expectancy at birth in 2020:
80.7 years
Hawaii had the longest life expectancy out of all of our states, at the age of 80.7 years. Overall, life expectancy at birth in Hawaii is among the longest in the nation, and the Aloha State was the only place in America to hit the 80-year milestone in 2020. The life expectancy for Hawaiians has dropped since 2019 when Hawaiians had a life expectancy of 82.3 years, which is likely to have been dropped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
79.1 years
Washington had the second longest life expectancy in the United States, at the age of 79.2 years. Life expectancy at birth in Washington is among the longest in the nation, although the life expectancy dropped from 80 to 79 years in California during COVID-19.
79.2 years
The state of Minnesota had the third longest life expectancy in the United States in 2020, at the age of 79.1 years. Life expectancy in Minnesota is among the longest in the nation, although this dropped across the United States in 2020, including in Minnesota, where Minnesotans born in 2019 had an average life expectancy of about 80.4 years.
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80
95
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We will now look at the states with the shortest life expectancy in the nation from 2020. We found that Americans born in the South are likely to have a shorter life expectancy compared with the rest of the United States, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
71.9 years
Mississippi had the shortest life expectancy out of all of our states at the age of 71.9 years. Life expectancy at birth in Mississippi is the shortest in the nation, and while the report did not touch on poverty levels, Mississippi also had the greatest share of people, 19.5% living below the poverty line in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
72.8 years
West Virginia had the second shortest life expectancy out of all of our states, at the age of 72.8 years. Overall, life expectancy at birth in West Virginia is among the shortest in the nation, and it has significantly dropped from the life expectancy rates in 2019 when the life expectancy at birth in West Virginia was 74.8 years.
73.1 years
Louisiana had the third shortest life expectancy out of all the US states at the age of 73.1 years. Life expectancy at birth in Alabama is among the shortest in the nation, and before the pandemic, in 2019, the average person born in Louisiana was expected to live 75.5 years.
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While the United States has always suffered long wait times in the emergency room, the COVID-19 pandemic put an enormous burden on the country’s hospitals. We will now explore which states had the longest hospital waiting times.
228 minutes
Maryland had the longest emergency room waiting time, with 228 minutes spent in the emergency room before leaving. Maryland lacks other types of healthcare. Maryland experts report that the state lacks primary and behavioral healthcare options that would otherwise keep people out of the emergency room.
195 minutes
Delaware had the second longest waiting room time, with 195 minutes spent in the emergency room before leaving. Delaware also ranked first in the percentage of emergency room patients who get fed up and leave before seeing a doctor, reports have revealed.
189 minutes
Massachusetts had the third longest waiting room time, with 189 minutes spent in the hospital before leaving. Research in 2021 revealed that there are too many patients and not enough staff or beds, which is the main problem across many Massachusetts hospitals.
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175
250
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We will now turn our attention to hospital waiting times in the US. We explored CMS data to see which states had the shortest average time that patients spent in the emergency department before leaving, in minutes. This data was covered from 2020 to 2021. Here are the states with the shortest waiting times in the US.
104 minutes
North Dakota had the second shortest average emergency room waiting time, at 104 minutes spent before leaving. There are many reasons for faster emergency room lines, one including that the population density in North Dakota is lower, meaning fewer people visit the ER.
113 minutes
South Dakota had the third shortest waiting time, at 113 minutes. Another unfortunate reason some states have shorter ER wait times is higher rates of uninsured residents. For example, more than 10% of people in South Dakota do not have health insurance.
114 minutes
The state of Nebraska had the third shortest emergency room waiting time, with 114 minutes spent in the emergency room before leaving. Another reason for shorter waiting times is that some states have invested in alternative healthcare methods, such as urgent care facilities and primary care doctors.
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We would now like to take a global perspective by looking into the countries with the highest healthcare expenditure per capita in recent years. We looked into member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for each country's total expenditure on health per capita in 2021.
$12.318
The United States was the country with the highest healthcare expenditure per capita in 2021. Wealthy countries like the US tend to spend more per person on health care and related medical expenses than lower-income countries. It has been reported that even as a high-income country, the US spends more per person on health than other comparable countries.
Americans pay almost four times as much for medication than in other developed countries, and hospitals, doctors, and nurses charge more in the US than in other countries. Hospital costs are increasing much faster than professional salaries in the health industry.
$7.783
Germany was the country with the second highest healthcare expenditure per capita in 2021. Health expenditure rose 6.5% to a new record high in Germany, compared with the pre-COVID year of 2019. The increase was found to be mostly due to COVID-19 testing and the vaccination campaign.
$7,179
The Swiss healthcare system has become more and more costly in recent years, and the financial burden for private households and the cantons is growing. The reason for Switzerland’s increase in health spending is the generally growing economy, if more money is available, more can be spent on health. In addition, the population is getting older.
The total per capita spending on health in 2020 was CHF 9,648 and that year the burden on the individual was 64%. *2020
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6.350
12,500
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We will now look into the countries with the lowest healthcare expenditure per capita in recent years. The health expenditure per capita was taken for each country in 2021, 2020, and 2019, and converted to US Dollars.
$1.227
Mexico was the country with the lowest healthcare expenditure per capita in 2020. The Mexican health system is underfunded. Mexico is spending less than half the amount it should on its health system, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recommendations. Spending on health has declined in recent years from 2.9% of GDP in 2012 to 2.5% in 2020. The PAHO recommends spending at least 6%.
$1.305
Turkey was the country with the second lowest healthcare expenditure per capita in 2020. Turkey’s healthcare spending was $1,305 per capita, lower annual spending than every other country we looked at except for Mexico.
$1,336 billion
Colombia was the country with the third lowest healthcare expenditure per capita in 2018. Colombia ranks third for highest public spending on healthcare in the region, where 63% of the total expenditure is covered by public funds and the remaining 36% by the private sector. Total health expenditure in 2019 was USD 21.6 billion. Closely followed behind South Dakota is North Dakota, with the third lowest healthcare expenditure in 2020. The total annual spending was $2.41 billion. The budget was mostly spent on Personal Health Care with a total cost of $1,209 billion.
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6.350
12,500
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We will now explore life expectancy from a global perspective, by exploring OECD countries' data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates in 2020.
85.29 years
Hong Kong had the longest life expectancy out of all of the OECD countries in our list, at 85.29 years (both sexes). Overall, life expectancy at birth in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world and ranked the oldest for both men and women.
Hong Kong's life expectancy has seen a steady increase over the past half-century, thanks to the result of fewer diseases of poverty while suppressing the diseases of affluence. The life expectancy of females in 2020 was 88.17 years, and 82.38 for males.
85.03 years
Japan had the second longest life expectancy out of all of the OECD countries in our list, at the age of 81.91 years (both sexes). Overall, life expectancy in Japan is among the longest in the world, at 88.09 years for women and 81.91 for men.
84.25 years
Switzerland had the third longest life expectancy out of all of the OECD countries in our list, at the age of 84.25 years (both sexes). Overall, life expectancy in Hong Kong is among the longest in the world, at 86.02 years for women and 82.42 for men.
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90
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We will now look at the countries with the shortest life expectancy in the world. These countries had the shortest life expectancy at birth from all the OECD countries on our list:
75.7 years
Latvia had the shortest life expectancy at birth out of all the countries on our list, at the age of 75.73 years (both sexes). Overall, life expectancy in Latvia is among the shortest in the world. Women in Latvia are likely to live longer than men, at 80.37 years, compared to men at 70.81 years.
79.1 years
Romania had the second shortest life expectancy at birth, at the age of 76.50 years (both sexes). Life expectancy in Romania is among the shortest in the world.
78 years
Slovakia had the third shortest life expectancy at birth out of all the OECD countries included on our list, at the age of 78 years (both sexes). Life expectancy in Slovakia is among the shortest in the world.
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90
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We will now look at OECD data for healthcare waiting times in countries across the globe to see which have the longest waiting times for appointments.
8.13 /10
Norway is the country with the longest healthcare waiting times, with a waiting time score of 8.13. Norway generally scored high across all factors but had the longest waiting time for patients waiting over a month to see a specialist doctor (61%). Norway also had one of the longest waiting times for cataract surgery, at 132 days.
6.80 /10
Canada had the second longest healthcare waiting times, with an average waiting time score of 6.53. Canada scored the highest for its waiting time of patients waiting one day or more to hear back from a doctor (33%), and the longest time in days waiting for a specialist appointment (61%).
6.66 /10
Canada had the third longest healthcare waiting times, with an average waiting time score of 6.53. Canada scored the highest for its waiting time of patients waiting one day or more to hear back from a doctor (33%), and the longest time in days waiting for a specialist appointment (61%).
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We will now look at the hospital waiting times in countries across the globe to see which have the shortest waiting times for healthcare in 2022.
Data from the OECD measured wait times in several countries, with factors including the share of people waiting on doctor’s appointments, those waiting one month or more for specialist appointments, and how long a patient had to wait to get "elective" or non-emergency procedures such as cataract surgery, hip replacement, and knee replacement.
2.00 /10
In joint first place with Hungary for the shortest healthcare waiting times in 2022 is Denmark, with an average waiting time score of 2.00.
In Denmark, no patients had to wait more than one day for healthcare appointments, and none waited for more than one month for specialist healthcare. Denmark patients also waited the lowest average number of days for a hip replacement (35 days).
2.00/ 10
Tied with Denmark for the shortest healthcare waiting times is Hungary, with an average waiting time score of 2.00.
In Hungary, no patients had to wait longer than one day for appointments, and none waited more than one month to see a specialist. The average waiting time for cataract surgery was just 36 days.
2.27 /10
Italy scored in third place for the shortest healthcare waiting times in the world, with an average waiting time score of 2.27.
In Italy, the average waiting time for patients to undergo cataract surgery was just 24 days, the lowest waiting time on our list. Italy also had the lowest waiting time to undergo knee replacement surgery, with 42 days of waiting time.
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US healthcare costs by state
We started by taking data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to find the total costs for healthcare by state using the Health Expenditures by State of Residence from 2020. This data is accurate as of 17/10/2022.
Life expectancy by state
We used the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Life Expectancy at Birth by State to find the life expectancy at birth for residents in each state.
Hospital waiting times in the US
We used Becker’s Hospital Review’s ER wait times, by state to find out which states had the shortest average (median) time patients spend in the emergency department before leaving, in minutes. The data covered Jan. 7, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
Health expenditure by country
We took OECD.org’s Health Spending data from member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to gather each country's total expenditure on health per capita in PPP U.S. dollars. The data for each country was from 2021 or the latest data available from 2019 or 2020. This data is accurate as of 21/10/2022.
Life expectancy by country
We used Worldometer’s Life Expectancy of the World Population, taking data from member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Healthcare waiting times across the world
We used World Population Review’s Health Care Wait Times by Country 2022 to find each country’s average waiting time for several different factors. We then ranked the countries based on their times in each factor to give a normalized score. This data is accurate as of 19/10/2022.The data covered Jan. 7, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
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