Our skyrocketing health care costs, in one chart
In case you needed a reminder, our health care costs are still way out of control. Here's what that looks like in graph form:
This chart comes from the Commonwealth Fund’s annual report, out today, comparing health spending and outcomes in 11 industrialized countries. The United States by far has the highest spending per capita, at $7,960 per person. None of the other ten, industrialized countries in the survey even come close: Norway, which has the next highest spending, hovers around $5,352.
And even after all that spending, Americans are not getting the care they think they need. The Commonwealth Fund also found that more than 40 percent of Americans went without care last year because of the cost.
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Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is the editor of Wonkblog and a columnist at the Washington Post, as well as a contributor to MSNBC and Bloomberg. His work focuses on domestic and economic policymaking, as well as the political system that’s constantly screwing it up. He really likes graphs, and is on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. E-mail him here.
Suzy Khimm
Suzy Khimm covers the budget, economic policy, and financial regulatory reform. Before coming to Washington, she was based in Brazil and Southeast Asia, where she wrote for the Economist, Slate, and the Wall Street Journal Asia. Follow her on Twitter here, and email her here.
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Sarah Kliff covers health policy, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid and the health reform law. She tries to fit in some reproductive health and education policy coverage, too, alongside an occasional hockey reference. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, Politico, and the BBC. She is on Twitter and Facebook.
Brad Plumer
Brad Plumer is a reporter focusing on energy and environmental issues. He was previously an associate editor at The New Republic. Follow him on Twitter. Email him here.
