The Problem
The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country in the world. In 2008, the U.S. spent $2.3 trillion on health care—that's about $7,681 per person—a number that is expected to double by 2020. Yet the U.S. does not rank among the top countries for the quality of care provided to patients. The U.S. has the highest rate of preventable deaths, the highest rate of infant mortality, and the lowest average healthy life expectancy when compared to many other industrialized nations. Furthermore:
In its landmark 2001 report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine said it best, concluding that "health care harms too frequently and routinely fails to deliver its potential benefits ... Between the health care we have and the care we could have lies not just a gap, but a chasm."
Related News
March 4, 2010
"Chest Scans Cost $550 to $3232 in Opaque Market for Radiology" by Charles R. Babcock, Bloomberg News
March 3, 2010
"Health Care Industry Sick with Medical Waste" by John Bonifield, CNN
February 25, 2010
"The Impact of Health Care Reform in Massachusetts" BBC News (note the report starts after a brief commercial)