US spends more than twice as much on health as similar countries for worse outcomes, finds report

The US spends twice as much on healthcare as comparable nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) but Americans experience worse health and are the only citizens who are not guaranteed universal healthcare, a report by the Commonwealth Fund has found.1

The Commonwealth Fund, which supports research to promote better healthcare, focused its latest analysis on excess US health spending. It found that about 60% of US excess spending was from administrative costs, prescription drugs, and wages for physicians and nurses—costs which likely reflected higher US prices.

An earlier report by the fund found that compared with other rich countries, life expectancy …