US health care costs: The crushing burden

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of health care costs in the United States, including trends, sources and uses of funds, employers’ role, and factors driving costs. It also reviews what analysts believe are cost drivers especially compared to other countries that have significantly lower health care costs and, often, better health outcomes. Within the US, there are also important differences by geography, further demonstrating that higher US costs do not reflect higher quality and greater patient and physician satisfaction. In fact, the opposite is often the case.