Share PostThe United States spends 2.5 times more on healthcare than most developed nations—or about $8,233 per person, according to PBS.
This means U.S. healthcare costs now comprise 17.6 percent of GDP, or 17 cents of every U.S. dollar.
Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland are the next-highest spenders, but in the same year, they all spent at least $3,000 less per person, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The average spending on healthcare among the other 33 developed OECD countries was $3,268 per person.
The report found that United States has fewer physicians per person than in most other OECD countries—In 2010, 2.4 physicians per 1,000 people, below the OECD average of 3.1—and fewer hospital beds: 2.6 per 1,000 population in 2009, lower than the OECD average of 3.4.
On the other hand, the United States also leads the world in healthcare research and cancer treatment and the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is higher in the U.S. than in other OECD countries.