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Healthcare Problems1-5
1. Healthcare in the United States is the most
expensive in the world. Its costs are two to three times greater than
the 20 other wealthiest countries in the developed Western World.
2. Healthcare costs are increasing rapidly compared
to growth in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
3. Healthcare costs currently account for 17
percent of our GDP.
4. An
estimated 30 percent of all healthcare spending nationally goes for care
that is either not indicated, not effective, or not up to current
community standards.
5.
Despite the amount of money spent on healthcare, life expectancy for
Americans is shorter than more than 20 other countries in the world. Our
life expectancy is about the same as for people living in Costa Rica
where healthcare costs are ten percent of those in the United States.
6. Over 45 million people
living in the United States (one-sixth of its population) have no health
insurance leaving them with little or no essential healthcare.
7. Within the United States, healthcare costs are
two to three times greater in some regions compared to others, but life
expectancy and quality of healthcare are not better where more money is
spent.
8. The quality of
healthcare is poor when compared to quality of services and products
available from other industries in the United States. Americans receive
effective care (defined as appropriate care based on medical evidence
and practice guidelines) for acute and chronic conditions only about
half the time.
9.
Healthcare costs are largely driven by preventable human behavior for
which everyone pays.6
10.
Healthcare providers are responsible for unacceptable levels of “harm”
where the Hippocratic Oath says “do no harm.”7
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