The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy and healthy life expectancy of the eight nations represented in the above charts. As you can see from my past several posts the U.S. also dramatically outspends these nations on health care. What are we getting for all the money we spend on health care? Not longer or healthier lives.
Health care is a complex issue and I don’t have all the answers. I believe that throwing more money at the issue is not the fix for the U.S. health care system. In the U.S. we already outspend all other developed countries on health care, and we don’t live longer or healthier lives. First and foremost, any fix to our health care system must focus on reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary procedures, and cutting administrative costs. If we don’t, the U.S. is on its way to becoming a healthcare state.
Essentially, the current path of the U.S. health care system is not sustainable. This is obvious from just looking at projections for the next decade. The long-term unfunded liabilities of medicare and medicaid are even worse (maybe the biggest issue the U.S. faces), but that is a topic for another post. We have great doctors, hospitals, and medicine in the U.S., but they are becoming increasingly unaffordable (and we don’t live longer and healthier lives because of it).
Data Source:
> World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2008, Part 2: Global health indicators. Life expectancy data is for 2006 and healthy life expectancy data is for 2003 (the lastest WHO numbers).
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The above charts show that the U.S. is not necessarily healthier than these other seven developed countries. We have the highest infant and adult mortality rates of these nations. Meanwhile, we substantially outspend them on health care (as the prior posts show). To me this points to large inefficiencies and waste in the U.S. health care system. More tomorrow.
Data Source:
> World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2008, Part 2: Global health indicators.
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The first chart shows U.S. health care expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to seven other developed nations. The second chart shows historical and projected U.S. health care expenditures as a percentage of GDP. If you also read the prior two posts, you can see that a lack of spending is not an issue with U.S. health care. On a per person basis and as a percentage of GDP the U.S. dramatically outspends other nations. The next two posts will show if we are healthier because of it.
Data Source:
> World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2008, Part 2: Global health indicators.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Historical, Table 1: National Health Expenditures Aggregate, Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Selected Calendar Years 1960-2007.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Projected, Table 1: National Health Expenditures; Aggregate and Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Calendar Years 2003-2018.
> Note: The first chart represents 2006 spending (the latest World Health Organization data). WHO also has a slightly lower number for U.S. expenditures on health care as a % of GDP than does the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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The first chart compares the per capita expenditures on health care in the U.S. with that of seven foreign nations. As you can see the U.S. dramatically outspends these nations on a per person basis. The second chart shows how per capita expenditures on health care in the U.S. have increased over time. The second chart also gives projections on where the per capita health care expenditures are headed over the next decade. Check in tomorrow to see similar charts that compare health care spending as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Data Source:
> World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2008, Part 2: Global health indicators.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Historical, Table 1: National Health Expenditures Aggregate, Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Selected Calendar Years 1960-2007.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Projected, Table 1: National Health Expenditures; Aggregate and Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Calendar Years 2003-2018.
Note: The first chart represents 2006 spending (the latest World Health Organization data). WHO also has a slightly lower number for U.S. per capita expenditures on health care than does the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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These two charts show how health care expenditures are paid in the U.S. The first chart shows the percentage of U.S. health care expenditures that are paid for with public (government) money and with private money. This chart also shows how the percentages have changed over time and gives projections on how the split will look in coming years. In 1960 the government paid about 25% of health care expenditures in the U.S. By 2018 it is projected to pay more than half. We can debate socialized medicine all we want in the U.S. Meanwhile, we are slowly moving in that direction.
The second chart gives more detail on who pays the U.S. health care expenditures. As you can see the majority of expenditures are paid by the federal government (mostly Medicare and Medicaid) and by private insurance.
Data Source:
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Historical, Table 1: National Health Expenditures Aggregate, Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Selected Calendar Years 1960-2007.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Projected, Table 1: National Health Expenditures; Aggregate and Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Calendar Years 2003-2018.
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This is the first in a six part series on health care. The top chart shows the total U.S. expeditures on health care for given years. The bottom chart shows how the increase in the cost of medical care in the U.S. compares to the increase in the overall consumer price index (CPI). As you can see on both an absolute and relative basis, health care costs have increased dramatically in the U.S. over the past few decades.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Historical, Table 1: National Health Expenditures Aggregate, Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Selected Calendar Years 1960-2007.
> Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. National Health Expenditure Accounts - Projected, Table 1: National Health Expenditures; Aggregate and Per Capita Amounts, Percent Distribution, and Average Annual Percent Growth, by Source of Funds: Calendar Years 2003-2018.
> CPI and medical care price increase data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS uses the term “medical care” instead of “health care.”
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