CBS News
U.S. spends the most but ranks last in health compared with other high-income nations, new report says
Americans, despite spending the most on healthcare, are the sickest and die the youngest compared with nine other high-income nations, according to a new report.
The report, released Thursday by independent research group The Commonwealth Fund, found the United States has the worst-performing health care system overall despite spending the most of any nation in the study.
Using data from World Health Organization and more since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the study looked at five key health care measures, including health equity, access to care, care process, administrative efficiency and health outcomes.
Here’s how the countries ranked based on overall score:
1. Australia
2. Netherlands
3. United Kingdom
4. New Zealand
5. France
6. Sweden
7. Canada
8. Switzerland
9. Germany
10. United States
“Differences in overall performance between most countries are relatively small, but the only clear outlier is the U.S., where health system performance is dramatically lower,” the report states.
In addition to ranking last overall, the U.S. also ranked lowest for specific health measures including access to care to health outcomes. Australia and the Netherlands, the two countries with the highest overall rankings, also have the lowest health care spending while the U.S. spends the most among the group.
“When it comes to life expectancy and avoidable deaths, the U.S. comes in last,” the report’s news release noted.
But, all countries have strengths and weaknesses despite their overall rankings.
“No country is at the top or bottom on all areas of performance. Even the top-ranked country — Australia — does less well, for example, on measures of access to care and care process. And even the U.S., with the lowest-ranked health system, ranks second in the care process domain,” the report states.
CBS News
FEMA employee fired for telling workers to ignore homes of Trump supporters during hurricane relief efforts
A Federal Emergency Management Agency worker has been fired after she directed workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump, the agency’s leader said in a statement Saturday.
“This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a statement to social media. “This was reprehensible.”
The agency did not identify the employee, nor did it say where it happened.
But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling it “targeted discrimination” of Florida residents who support Trump, said it happened in Florida.
Getty Images
DeSantis said he has directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management to begin an investigation into the matter.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media.
“New leadership is on the way in DC, and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired,” he said.
There were no details in FEMA’s statement or DeSantis’ comments about the time frame or community where the incident occurred. FEMA workers have been in the state helping residents recover from Hurricane Milton, which devastated many Florida communities last month.
Criswell said she is determined to hold employees accountable.
“I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again,” she said.
Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the final on Saturday.
The 20-year-old American came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage.
STR / AP
Yet she took the set to a tiebreaker and won the first six points. Zheng threatened a comeback but Gauff took the victory off her third match point with a forehand winner as she came into the net.
Gauff beat the world’s top two players – Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek – on her run to the final at the season-ending event in
Riyadh.
Zheng was looking to complete a season in which she reached a grand slam final for the first time at the Australian Open and delivered China’s first Olympic tennis singles gold medal.
STR / AP
In the doubles final, Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States.
One of 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina has been recovered unharmed, officials said Saturday.
Many of the others are still located a few yards from the property, jumping back and forth over the facility’s fence, police said in a statement.
The Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them, officials said.
The monkeys on Friday were exploring the outer fence of the Alpha Genesis compound and were cooing at the monkeys inside. The primates continued to interact with their companions inside the facility on Saturday, which is a positive sign, the police statement said.
Yemassee Police Department
Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard relayed that efforts to recover all the animals will persist throughout the weekend and for as long as it takes, the statement said.
Westergaard told CBS News on Thursday that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door at the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam free.
“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” he said. “It was a group of 50 and 7 stayed behind and 43 bolted out the door.”
Westergaard acknowledged that it would be a long process to get them back and that they didn’t want to chase the monkeys because that would spook them and make them run away.
“We’ve got them very close,” he told CBS News. “This is all like what we want to see.”
The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing about 7 pounds.
Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and police all said the monkeys pose no risk to public health. The facility breeds the monkeys to sell to medical and other researchers.
Alpha Genesis provides primates for research worldwide at its compound in Yemassee, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.
