High Prices Still Ramp Up Health Care Costs

In the United States, a trip to the doctor can break the bank. But in the last few years, Americans have seen attempts to reform policy and health care systems. Has anything changed? That’s what researchers asked in a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs. The team used data published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to determine how much the U.S. shells out per capita for health care compared with other high-income countries. When they compared that spending with overall economic growth, measured in gross domestic product (GDP), and availability of care, things didn’t look so good for Americans.