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Health Care Spending Analysis

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Anderson speak about Spending, Use of Services, Prices, and Health in 13 Countries
High U.S. health care spending due to greater use of medical technology, health care prices. U.S. spends more on health care than other high-income countries but has worse outcomes. The United States is the highest spender on health care. In the U.S., there were also fewer hospital beds and fewer discharges per capita than in the median OECD country. Americans appear to be greater consumers of medical technology, including diagnostic imaging and pharmaceuticals. Health care spending in the U.S. far exceeds that in other countries, despite a global slowdown in spending growth in recent years. At 17.1 percent of GDP, the U.S. devotes at least 50 percent more of its economy to health care than do other countries. Even public spending on health care, on a per capita basis, is higher in the U.S. than in most other countries with universal public coverage.
How can we explain the higher U.S. spending? In line with previous studies,19 the results of this analysis suggest that the excess is likely driven by greater utilization of medical technology and higher prices, …show more content…

economy, contributing to wage stagnation, personal bankruptcy, and budget deficits, and creating a competitive disadvantage relative to other nations. One potential consequence of high health spending is that it may crowd out other forms of social spending that support health. In the U.S., health care spending substantially outweighs spending on social services. This imbalance may contribute to the country’s poor health outcomes. A growing body of evidence suggests that social services play an important role in shaping health trajectories and mitigating health disparities. Additional cross-national research is needed to better understand the relationship between social services and health, as well as other health determinants like lifestyle and

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