During the CNN Debate Night debate between Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders on the issue of the future of healthcare in America, Ted Cruz made the claim that the United States has the best healthcare in the world. In this article, we’ll fact-check Cruz’s statement and answer the question: does the US have the best healthcare in the world?

Does The US Have The Best Healthcare In The World? Here Are The Facts.

The effectiveness of the United States healthcare system has been a hotly debate topic for decades. While the rest of the industrialized world has implemented some form single-payer healthcare, the United States created the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to make healthcare insurance more affordable and accessible to all Americans. Despite this massive overhaul, the United States still does not have a very effective healthcare system relative to the rest of the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the American healthcare system 37th in the world, trailing other major countries such as France (1st), the United Kingdon (18th), Germany (25th), and Canada (30th).

In 2014, the Commonwealth Fund, a private United States foundation dedicated to promoting a high-quality healthcare system, ranked the United States healthcare system last compared to ten other major nations in North America and Europe. In this study, the United Kingdom had the best overall healthcare system.

These two studies, the most well-respected when examining healthcare systems, demonstrate that the US does not have the best healthcare coverage in the world.

The United States Doesn’t Have The Best Healthcare Coverage, But…

The United States does take first place when it comes to most expensive healthcare system. The Commonwealth Fund found that the United States spends more on healthcare than any other high-income country in the world. So while the US doesn’t have the best healthcare coverage, the nation does have the most expensive system in the world. Although it doesn’t sound great, some are optimistic that tweaks to the system can make great healthcare coverage affordable for everyone in America.

The Verdict: Ted Cruz Was Wrong

Objective News Report rates Ted Cruz’s claim that the US has the best healthcare in the world as FALSE. The United States’ healthcare system is demonstrably flawed and inferior to other major nations, but remains the most expensive system in the world.