CUBA TREATS PATIENTS,

AMERICA PROTECTS PROFITS

Cuba’s health care system demonstrates how a small, resource-limited nation can achieve outcomes that rival, and in some cases surpass, those of the United States. Unlike the U.S., where costs often delay or prevent treatment, Cuba guarantees universal access with no out-of-pocket charges. The Family Doctor and Nurse Program assigns teams to neighborhoods, where they conduct home visits, monitor social conditions, and focus on prevention. This community-based model has helped Cuba achieve vaccination rates near 98% and infant mortality rates lower than those in the U.S.

What makes this especially notable is Cuba’s efficiency: the country spends less than $1,000 per person annually on healthcare, compared with more than $14,000 in the U.S. Yet, life expectancy is nearly the same, and child health outcomes are often better. Cuba’s emphasis on equity—such as maternity homes for high-risk pregnancies and consistent prioritization of health services even during economic crises—shows how political will and prevention-oriented policy can drive results.

Cuba’s system is not without its limitations: shortages of technology, limited patient choice, and questions about transparency persist. Still, its success in providing universal, preventive care at low cost offers lessons for the United States, where high spending continues to coexist with deep inequality and uneven outcomes that result in thousands of preventable deaths each year.

Cuba Healthcare Spending (Macrotrends)

Opinion: The Cuban healthcare system and its lessons for the US (48hills, 12-26-24)

Cuba - Health in Americas+ Country Profile (Health in Americas+, 10-1-24)

Health Equity, Cuban Style (AMA Journal of Ethics, 3-21)

Doing More with Less: Lessons from Cuba's Health Care System (Rand, 10-6-17)

How Cubans Live as Long as Americans at a Tenth of the Cost (The Atlantic, 11-29-16)