Approximately 44 million Americans have no health insurance. Americans spend about 14 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health care costs; far more than other advanced nations (average 8 percent). As boomers age, American costs are projected at 18 percent of GDP by 2013. Yet statistics such as average life span and infant mortality rates suggest that Americans are not getting what they pay for; most developed nations have better scores on both measures.
Background
Health care -- the cost and insurance coverage -- is a hot button issue in this election. Retirees are concerned about Medicare, prescription coverage, and catastrophic health insurance. Younger Americans -- more likely to have part-time or low-paying jobs with few benefits -- are concerned about access to health care. The unemployed often trade off a COBRA insurance payment (a federal program that allows former employees access to employer insurance at "cost" for a period of 18 months) against a car payment.
Who's to blame for the high costs? Three researchers -- Uwe E. Reinhardt of Princeton and Peter S. Hussey and Gerard F. Anderson of Johns Hopkins -- have compared the American system with those in other developed nations. Their conclusion? American doctors and hospitals charge much more, patients pay significantly more for drugs, and administration expenses are "exorbitant."
The analysis supports that conclusion. For example, the US has only 2.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) median is 3.9, and Germany has 6.3 per 1,000. In 2001, the US had 2.7 doctors per 1,000 people; the OECD median was 3.1 and France, often the butt of jokes in America, had 3.3 per 1,000.
Who's to blame for the high costs? Three researchers -- Uwe E. Reinhardt of Princeton and Peter S. Hussey and Gerard F. Anderson of Johns Hopkins -- have compared the American system with those in other developed nations. Their conclusion? American doctors and hospitals charge much more, patients pay significantly more for drugs, and administration expenses are "exorbitant."
The analysis supports that conclusion. For example, the US has only 2.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) median is 3.9, and Germany has 6.3 per 1,000. In 2001, the US had 2.7 doctors per 1,000 people; the OECD median was 3.1 and France, often the butt of jokes in America, had 3.3 per 1,000.
