Chart dispels common health care cost myth

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,

Liberals attack our health care system by stating that the United States is spending more on health care than other nations, and therefore we need more government control and regulations.

As the chart above shows, a nation’s health care spending is tightly correlated to the wealth of a nation and the income of its citizens.    The highest income nations rank among the highest health care spending nations.   This is to be expected of a high income country like the United States.

Also, with higher income nations also comes higher discretionary income.  When you have higher discretionary income you are more able to spend it on additional health care services like specialized rehab services or more advanced personal medical devices.

This does not ignore huge problems and dysfunctions in our health care system, but it does dispel the money-claim as a grossly incomplete talking point used by politicians.  If you get the premise wrong you will get the reform wrong and solutions wrong.    Americans should be focused on reforms tied to more choices and more competition for the consumer and less costly/unnecessary red-tape, less taxes for the provider.