10 Mind Blowing Facts About Healthcare In The US
The healthcare system in the US has been wavering out of control for quite some time now. Here are some of the unheralded facts about it:
- Absence Of Universal Healthcare
The US is among a few wealthy, industrialized nations without a universal health care system. Nearly 1 out of 2 American adults suffer from at least one chronic illness or have a pre-existing medical condition. About 17% of the children and adolescents in the US are obese while the majority (68%) of adults over the age of 20 are either obese or overweight.
2. 50th In Life Expectancy
Life expectancy of a child born in the United States is an estimated 79 years, placing the country at the 50th position globally. Even the poorest British citizens can expect to live longer than the richest Americans.
3. 37th In Expensive Healthcare
The US has one of the most expensive health care systems in the world, ranking 37 out of 191 countries (as per the WHO’s report). The total healthcare cost was around $2.6 trillion in 2012 and is expected to rise to $4.8 trillion by 2021.
4. 1/3rd Expended On Senior Citizens
Senior citizens make up only 13% population of the country, but account for 30% of its health care expenditure.
5. Can Be The 5th Largest Economy
If the health care system were to detach itself from the US and become a separate economy, in that case it would be the fifth largest economy in the world.
6. 17% Of GDP Expenditure
The US spends more than 17% of its total GDP on healthcare, the highest percentage as compared to any other country in the world. This happens mainly because: 1) There is a lot of waste in healthcare expenses in the US due to excessive bureaucracies. About one-third of the nation’s healthcare expenses are diverted towards administrative overhead, far higher than other countries. 2) Also, Americans pay higher prices for patented drugs, medical devices, procedures, hospital care and physician’s fees.
7. Most Nobel’s In Medicine And Physiology
Americans are responsible for a majority of all healthcare innovations. Even the Nobel Prize (in medicine and physiology) has been bagged by American residents more often than residents from all other countries combined (observed since the mid-1970’s).
8. Emphasis On Clinical Trials
The top five hospitals in the United States are known for conducting more trials than all the hospitals in any other single developed nation.
9. 70th In Health And Wellness
As per the Social Progress Index 2014, the United States ranks 70th among 132 nations in terms of health and wellness.
10. Low On Health Equity
An estimated 37% of Americans do not seek a physician’s help when sick due to high costs, and this is more likely among Americans with below average incomes, as compared to their counterparts in other countries. Thus, the country ranks very low on measures of equity.
