U.S. Healthcare: On the expensive verge

1.The United States spends 16.4 percent of its national GDP – or $2.75 trillion – per year on healthcare costs (as of 2013).

2.Healthcare takes a far greater share of national GDP in the United States than in any other OECD country – at least 50 percent more than in other comparable countries.

3.In Germany, healthcare consumed 11 percent of GDP in the year 2013. France spent 10.9 percent of GDP on it.

4.The 2 countries utilize a tightly regulated and largely non-profit system for health insurance to offer competitive coverage options.

5.The United Kingdom, with 64 million people under a unified and centralized single-payer payment and care system, spent 8.5 percent of GDP on healthcare.

6.Canada, with its single-payer national health insurance system and private care contributors, spent 10.2 percent.

7.The 2^nd most populous developed nation, Japan, spent 10.2 percent of its GDP on healthcare, through non-profit insurance and private hospitals.

8.For all of this money, the United States does not have better health results – rather on cancer treatment.

9.Relative to peer nations, U.S. life expectancy is lower, chronic diseases are more widespread, infant mortality is larger.