#HealthcareInequality

America confronts a profound health crisis extending far beyond commonly discussed issues including medical care access or pharmaceutical innovation, with new analyses published in Nature and major comparative health reports revealing that the United States continues declining behind global peers across virtually every major public health indicator, raising urgent questions for health policymakers worldwide, including Thailand, as they examine their own healthcare system vulnerabilities and strengths while learning from American policy failures.

America, the world’s wealthiest nation, is grappling with a profound health crisis that goes far beyond commonly discussed issues such as access to medical care or the latest pharmaceutical breakthroughs. New analyses published in Nature and major comparative health reports reveal that the United States continues to fall behind its global peers in nearly every major indicator of public health — raising urgent questions not only for Americans but also for health policymakers across the globe, including in Thailand, as they reflect on their own systems’ vulnerabilities and strengths.

Recent decades show a dramatic decline in early childhood deaths in wealthy nations, a public health achievement not always acknowledged in headlines. The trend reflects sustained investments in health systems, disease prevention, and social supports that have dramatically lowered a child’s risk of dying before age five. Data from international research underscores how vaccines, better prenatal and neonatal care, access to antibiotics, nutrition, and safer living conditions have reshaped child survival.

In recent decades, children born in wealthy countries are far less likely to die in early childhood than at any point in modern history—a fact highlighted by a wave of new research but rarely celebrated in global headlines. This profound decline in child mortality is among the most significant public health achievements of our time, yet its story is often overshadowed by other health challenges, leaving many unaware of the progress made and the factors driving these improvements Our World in Data.

A proposed Republican-led budget plan to cut Medicaid—the United States’ largest public health program—could raise costs and reduce access to essential reproductive health services for millions of women. Health advocates warn that low-income women, communities of colour, people with disabilities, and rural residents may lose affordable care, including contraception, prenatal care, and important screenings.

For Thai readers, the U.S. debate serves as a cautionary tale about public healthcare funding. Medicaid currently covers more than 70 million people, including about 13 million women of reproductive age, and is a government-led effort to protect vulnerable populations. This bears some resemblance to Thailand’s 30-baht universal health coverage scheme, known locally as the gold card system.

Proposed Republican-led budget cuts to Medicaid—the United States’ largest health insurance programme—could drastically increase healthcare costs and reduce access to essential health services for millions of women, according to recent reports. The potential policy shift is raising concerns among health advocates and experts who warn that low-income women, communities of colour, those with disabilities, and rural residents may be left without affordable care, including birth control, prenatal services, and vital screenings.