AMERICANS SPEND MUCH MORE ON HEALTHCARE

Americans spend considerably more money on healthcare than any other industrialized nation — but the increased expenditure isn’t translating to better care, according to a new report.

            For the study, Gerard Anderson, PhD and colleagues compared data on 30 industrialized countries. They found that US per capita health spending rose to $4,631 in 2000, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year. The US level was 83% higher than Canada and 134% higher than the median of $1,983.

            The study also found that the United States spent 13% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GNP) on healthcare, considerably higher than other nations.

            The US spent 44% more on healthcare than Switzerland, the nation with the next highest per capita health-care costs. At the same time, Americans had fewer physician visits and shorter hospital stays, compared to most other industrialized nations.

             “Policymakers should assess exactly what Americans are getting for their greater health care spending. In economics, these are known as opportunity costs because you can spend the money in different ways,” notes Dr. Anderson.

            Anderson GF, Relnhardt UE, Hussey PS, Petrosyan V.It's the prices, stupid: why the United States is so different from other countries.
Health Aff (Millwood). 2003 May-Jun;22(3):89-105.