Health Care Spending in Other Countries

Examining the health economies of other countries enhances our understanding of the U.S. health economy. Many countries have large health care sectors and face the same major issues. Table 1-1 shows how health care spending as a share of GDP grew rapidly in most countries between 1960 and 1980. A more mixed picture emerges after 1980. The health care share in the United States continued to grow in each period after 1980 shown in Table 1-1, but growth was more modest in most other countries. The data also indicate the relative size of the U.S. health economy compared to that of other countries. For example, health care’s share of GDP in the United States is nearly twice as large as the share in the United Kingdom—a country with national health insurance. Is care costlier in the United States? Is it higher quality care, or are we simply consuming more?

a 2009 or most recent year. OECD data for the United States may differ slightly from values reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Health Care Data, June 2011.