The United States has been assessed as worst health-care system overall among 11 high-income countries in every report, even though it spends the highest proportion of its gross domestic product on health care.

In New York City, the Commonwealth Fund and Edward Harness largely orchestrated the merger of Columbia Medical School and Presbyterian Hospital.

[9] Following World War II, the foundation supported the development of new medical schools in the United States in an effort to address doctor shortages and meet the needs of communities lacking health care services.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the organization focused on developing urban health care systems, and in the late 1970s, worked to improve medical school curricula.

In the 1980s, the Commonwealth Fund played a prominent role in the development of the patient-centered care movement and helped draw attention to the needs of older Americans.