Compare the U.S. health care system to that of other countries. Are we getting superior health care for the money we spend?

The U.S. health care system is the most expensive, and not the most effective system in the world. In the last decade, health-care spending in the U.S. nearly doubled. Health care costs world-wide have also increased, but not as much as in the U.S. We spend a larger share of our GDP on health care, more than other developed nations do. In 2011, health care expenditures amounted to almost 18% of GDP, while among OECD countries, the average was 9%. Per capita expenditures amount to less than $3,500 in OECD countries, but $8,500 in the U.S.

One would think that such spending would yield the best health care system in the world, but life expectancy in the U.S. ranks 40th in the world, not first. Other developed nations including Japan, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the the Untied Kingdom all rank higher in life expectancy than does the U.S. In addition, during the past half-century, most OECD countries saw a gain in life expectancy of 11 more years of life, while in the U.S. the increase was only 9 years.

The increasing cost has priced many people out of the system. Not only the poor, but some of those in the middle class cannot afford routine medical care. Many put off or avoid dental and health care because of cost. The hope of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was to control costs and make health care more affordable, but although the rate of growth has slowed, the cost is still increasing. In addition, as we go to press, legal challenges to the law have put at risk the subsidies now in place in 34 states, covering about 9 million people. If the law is struck down, health care costs will likely rise more quickly.