It's been a sore spot for the U.S. for years. Despite living inthe richest country on earth with the most expensive health caresystem, Americans are less healthy and live shorterlives than people in a number of countries that spend far less onhospitals, doctors and medicine.

A comprehensive look at the U.S. health care system by theKaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcareshows that while the U.S. bests "comparable countries" on a handfulof important health care metrics, it lags behind its peers in farmore ways.

Among the measures in which the U.S. is a leader in the pack, asof 2013:

• Mortality rate for breast and colorectal cancers.

• 30-day in-hospital mortality rate for acute myocardialinfarction and ischemic stroke.

• Hospital admission rate foruncontrolled diabetes.

• Wait time for specialists.

The U.S. performs on par with other first-world nations when itcomes to cervical cancer survival rates, in-hospital mortalityrates for hemorrhagic strokes.