Sick Spending

Despite spending 18% of GDP on healthcare, or $9,356/person, Americans are falling behind other countries in overall health. In 1990, US life expectancy was 75.2, by 2010 it was 78.2, yet the US ranking fell from 20th to 27th. Worse, from 1990 through 2010, the average number of years Americans live with chronic disease rose from 9.4 to 10.1, causing the US to fall from 14th to 26th.