High U.S. Health Care Spending: Where Is It All Going?

Commonwealth Fund October 4, 2023
Ani Turner, George Miller, Elise Lowry

TOPLINES

Administrative costs, prescription drugs, and physician and nurse wages may be contributing factors to excess health spending in the United States, compared with peer nations

The majority of “excess” U.S. health spending is associated with components likely reflected in higher U.S. prices, while utilization may explain a large portion of the remainder

Abstract

• Issue: The United States spends twice as much per person on health as peer nations. Current research points to higher prices as a driving factor, but less is known about how the dollars associated with higher U.S. prices and spending are distributed.
• Goals: To identify and estimate components of excess U.S. health spending relative to peer nations.
• Methods: Review of published and grey literature comparing...

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