Assessing the Real Cost of Health Care in America
Assessing the Real Cost of Health Care in America We can�t measure the real cost of any public program, unless we consider the economic factors, such as opportunity cost, which is the cost of spending excessive resources on health care that could otherwise go to something else. In order to do this, lets look at what other industrialized countries have in per capita income and what they are spending for health care. Based on 2006 income data the United States is no longer the wealthiest country per capita. Norway is the wealthiest country with $53,100 dollars of gross national income per person, compared to the USA�s $44,200 per person. Ireland is third with an income of $41,300 per person. What is interesting is both of these countries have national health care plans and higher taxes than in the United States. When you compare spending on health care, citing the Journal of Health Affairs article published in June of 2004, Norway spent $2,920 per person compared to the United States $4,...