By Elizabeth Mitchell
November 7th, 2011

It was dismaying but not entirely surprising to learn the results of the Commonwealth Fund's recently released analysis of international health care performance. The report ranked the United States last among industrialized nations in providing timely and effective to prevent deaths.

According to the report, in 2011, U.S. health care "costs were up sharply, access to care deteriorated, health system efficiency remained low, disparities persisted and health outcomes failed to keep pace with the benchmarks" set by other countries. It is not an overstatement to say that controlling health care costs and improving health care quality is critical to Maine's physical and economic health, yet the majority of Maine people believe there is little we can do to change the current system.

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