In 1970, national health care expenditure totaled $70 billion. By 2023, that tally climbed to $4.9 trillion.
While the aggregate number is staggering, the per capita data is likewise eye-popping – from $2,000 per person in 1970 to almost $15,000 in 2023. In comparison to the other OECD countries, the United States pay a much larger share of GDP on healthcare.
Healthcare costs have far outpaced inflation and overall economic growth – going from under 8% share of GDP in 1970 to 17.6% of GDP in 2023. This divergence relative to other countries has become more pronounced in the last half century. Of the 32 countries in the table below, 40% adopted some form of national healthcare prior to 1970 while 60% embraced the concept in the past fifty years.
| Country | Pre-1970 | Country | Post-1970 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 1912 | United Arab Emirates | 1971 | |
| Japan | 1938 | Finland | 1972 | |
| New Zealand | 1938 | Slovenia | 1972 | |
| Germany | 1941 | Denmark | 1973 | |
| Belgium | 1945 | Luxembourg | 1973 | |
| United Kingdom | 1948 | France | 1974 | |
| Kuwait | 1950 | Australia | 1975 | |
| Sweden | 1955 | Ireland | 1977 | |
| Bahrain | 1957 | Italy | 1978 | |
| Brunei | 1958 | Portugal | 1979 | |
| Canada | 1966 | Cyprus | 1980 | |
| Netherlands | 1966 | Greece | 1983 | |
| Austria | 1967 | Spain | 1986 | |
| South Korea | 1988 | |||
| Iceland | 1990 | |||
| Hong Kong | 1993 | |||
| Singapore | 1993 | |||
| Switzerland | 1994 | |||
| Israel | 1995 |
Affordability has become a bigger challenge for many Americans. Estimates exceed half a million people filing bankruptcies annually related to medical debt. If so, this represents over 60% of all bankruptcy filings. 33% of campaigns on crowdfunding site GoFundMe are related to medical bills. Individuals delay or avoid getting medical treatment for fear of immiserating debt. The preventable medical deaths related to such deferment are estimated at 45,000 per year.
Two basic questions must be:
- Is this sustainable
- Is there a better way?
The system may never change; if the change occurs, it may be years into the future. So, for now, how do you cope? It is also worth considering what exactly the Affordable Healthcare Act did, and what it did not do? We will explore these and other questions in other posts on this site.