A new study released in Washington on Tuesday shows that the United States continues to spend the most on health care when compared to other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
Using 2004 data, which is the most recent available, the study found that health care prices and higher per capita incomes are major factors for higher U.S. spending, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Princeton University.
U.S. health care spending per capita was 2.5 times greater than the median OECD country. U.S. spent 15.3 percent of gross domestic product on health care, which is substantially higher than any other OECD country.
Compared to the average OECD country in 2004, U.S. has fewer health resources -- physicians, nurses and hospital beds -- and lower utilization of these resources.
Health spending for chronic health issues, such as obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking, also contributes to high health spending in U.S..
The study is published in the September/October 2007 issue of Health Affairs.
Source: Xinhua
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