Does America Really Have the Worst Health System in the Developed World?

Premature baby Matthew Hirsh, born at 28 weeks, lies in the neonatal intensive care unit during a media tour for the March of Dimes' Prematurity Awareness Month at New York University Medical Center Nov. 10, 2004 in New York City. Because the United States, unlike other countries, includes premature babies in its calculation of infant mortality, statistics give a misleading picture of the nation’s health care. Mario Tama/Getty Images

America spends twice as much on health care as its peers in the developed world, yet fares worse on a range of health indicators, including life expectancy and infant mortality.

That’s the finding of a new survey of 10 developed countries published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.