Healthcare study ranks Australia second best in developed world, while US comes in last.
Australia's healthcare system has been ranked among the best in the developed world by a team of American researchers who have ranked their own country's system the worst.
In their study of 11 different national health care models, researchers at the New York-based Commonwealth Fund ranked Australia's mixed public-private system second best.
They concluded the United Kingdom's National Health Service was the best system overall, followed by Australia, then the Netherlands, with Norway and New Zealand sharing fourth place.
"And I shouldn't say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia, because you have better healthcare than we do.".
"So any self-congratulations and praise should be tempered, because Australia ranks very poorly on the equity measure.".
"The top performing countries — the UK, Australia and the Netherlands — could offer important lessons to the US and other countries," they said. »