Health Care Spending Slow Down is World Wide
Growth in health spending reversed a long-term trend of rapid increase and either slowed or fell in real terms in most OECD countries in 2010…Overall health spending grew by nearly 5 percent a year in real terms in the 34 countries…between 2000-2009, but this was followed by zero growth in 2010…The OECD also said preliminary figures for a limited number of countries suggest there was little or no growth in health spending in 2011.
This is from Reuters, based on an OECD report. HT: Chris Jacobs.
Health care spending is a fuction of many factors. An aging population, new technology, the economy disease burden, and other factors, all contribute to health care expenditure around the world.
I would find it interesting if someone did the research to determine whether the countries that experienced a fall in spending actually found ways to cut costs, or if patients were just being turned away or placed on waiting lists.
Maybe the fact that the whole damn world is in a recession/depression has something to do with this. Responsible people are not spending what they do not have on “elective” medical care.
One would have to break down the medical spending into elective v other and not look at it in terms of total spending.
Good point, Dr. Steve.
I agree with Dr. Steve. I would be interested to see if the recession has changed the composition of individuals’ spending away from health care, however.
If, in general, people in other OECD countries are as health-conscious as, in general, people in the United States–not considering those who overeat, smoke, or engage in substance abuse–I would imagine that it might not be their choice to save money by caring less for their health. There must be other reasons. Is population shrinking in those countries, thus needing less healthcare? Are medicine and medical procedures becoming cheap with advancements in technology? Are people turning to preventive care and healthy lifestyle alternatives–whatever those are? Are people visiting countries in the Third World for expensive medical procedures? Or . . . maybe the healthcare system in the OECD countries somehow got burdened with excessive rules and regulations and people now shirk involvement in it and prefer instead to seek home remedies–or to just endure pain.