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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Does the US spend twice as much on health care as other developed nations?

By Esther Tsvayg
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YES

U.S. per capita spending on health care is about twice the average of the 37 member states in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to OECD health statistics. The U.S. spent 17% of its gross domestic product on health care in 2019, against the OECD average of 8.8%. Switzerland, which ranks second-highest in total health care spending, spent 12.2% of GDP on health care in the same year.

In 2016, U.S. public spending on health care was comparable to that of other developed countries while private and out-of-pocket spending was significantly higher.

Health outcomes in the U.S. are generally not better than in the other OECD states. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation observes that the U.S. "actually performs worse in some common health metrics like life expectancy, infant mortality and unmanaged diabetes."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Peter G. Peterson Foundation: How the US health care system compares to other countries
Commonwealth Fund: US health care from a global perspective
JAMA Network: Health care spending in the US and other high-income countries
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.