The International Federation of Health Plans is comprised of more than a hundred health plans from twenty-five countries. It's been around for more than forty years and publishes studies annually. Their latest publication compares medical prices in a number of OECD countries. And surprise! The U.S. has the highest prices in the world. Let's look at some examples which compare the average U.S. cost to the range of costs in other OECD countries.
U.S. Other Countries
Day in hospital $4,267 $429 - $1,472
Knee replacement $25,637 $3,192 - $22,421
Office visit $95 $10 - $38
Lipitor $124 $6 - $60
Health costs as % of GDP 17.6% 9.5%
Notice anything strange?
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