U.S. Spends Far More for Health Care Than 12 Industrialized Nations, but Quality Varies : Information Clearing House
U.S. Spends Far More for Health Care Than 12 Industrialized Nations, but Quality Varies : Information Clearing House U.S. Spends Far More for Health Care Than 12 Industrialized Nations By Mary Mahon May 03, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- May 3, 2012, New York, NY—The United States spends more on health care than 12 other industrialized countries yet does not provide "notably superior" care, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund. The U.S. spent nearly $8,000 per person in 2009 on health care services, while other countries in the study spent between one-third (Japan and New Zealand) and two-thirds (Norway and Switzerland) as much. While the U.S. performs well on breast and colorectal cancer survival rates, it has among the highest rates of potentially preventable deaths from asthma and amputations due to diabetes, and rates that are no better than average for in-hospital deaths from heart attack and stroke.