Researchers at the US-based RAND Corp and Britain's Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that while Americans aged 55 and older have higher rates of chronic disease, they live longer than elderly people who get ill in England.

"If you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States," said James Smith, an economist with RAND in Santa Monica, California, who co-authored the study with James Banks and Alastair Muriel of the IFS.

"It appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be better than the system in England." But that edge comes at a price.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data show the United States spends more on healthcare than any other nation, and Banks said spending on healthcare for the elderly in the US is almost double that in England.

In 2008, the latest year for which full OECD figures are available, the United States spent 16 percent of its national output or $7,538 per person on health - well over double the $3,000 per person average of all OECD countries.

British politicians leapt to defend the state-funded National Health System when it was attacked during the 2009 US presidential election campaign by Republicans who used criticism of the NHS - which they called a socialist system - to stoke opposition to Barack Obama's healthcare reforms.

Supporters of Obama's reforms argue too many people fall through the net and are without medical insurance. Once people in the United States turn 65, however, they become eligible for Medicare, a government-run health insurance program for the elderly that gives nearly 40 million Americans access to high quality medical care.