Home > The Problem

How is it that the United States, one of the richest nations in the world, has its health system ranked only 37th when compared to those of 191 other countries by the World Health Organization? The quality of healthcare in the U.S. is in question at the same time that costs are continuing to rise and the U.S. population is rapidly aging. Thought leaders tell us that our country is facing a healthcare crisis in the next two decades unlike any we have ever seen. There is a growing awareness that the healthcare delivery system is not a system at all, but, rather, local, regional, and national markets of providers operating in silos who offer uncoordinated services to transient patients and caregivers. Parties to this system – health systems, physicians, other providers, public health, academic researchers, health plans, and consumers -- know that the U.S. must address a very large set of problems if it is to turn around its healthcare system.