We Spend Most and Have Fastest Rising Costs

Gerard F. Anderson and Patricia Markovich of Johns Hopkins University have completed Multinational Comparisons of Health System Data, 2008 supported by the Commonwealth Fund.  The report includes an extensive series of charts that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that exist between health systems.  Over the next several days, I will be including graphic examples from the report.

To begin, we'll look at cost comparisons, and see that the U. S. spends more per capita than any of the nine countries compared.  This chart shows spending per capita for 2006, adjusted for differences in cost of living between respective countries.  OCED is the Organization for Economic Development which is made up of European countries and Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and the United States.  (Click to enlarge graph.)

And costs are rising faster in the United States, than in any country with which it is compared.  (Click to enlarge.)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will begin to address this cost problem, by extending health insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans.  By doing so, we will improve our competitive position in the world economy, helping us improve exports, while keeping more jobs at home.