Stark health care spending differences between U.S., other developed countries

A new report says the U.S. spends more than 2 1/2 times most developed nations. And a survey finds corporate executives are more worried about their companies' health costs than other issues.

PBS Newshour: Health Costs: How The U.S. Compares With Other Countries
How much is good health care worth to you? $8,233 per year? That's how much the U.S. spends per person. Worth it? That figure is more than two-and-a-half times more than most developed nations in the world, including relatively rich European countries like France, Sweden and the United Kingdom. On a more global scale, it means U.S. health care costs now eat up 17.6 percent of GDP. A sizable slice of Americans -- including some top-ranking politicians -- say the cost may be unfortunate but the U.S. has "the best health care in the world." But let's consider what 17 cents of every U.S. dollar is purchasing (Kane, 10/22).

Reuters: Health Care Costs Top U.S. Executives Concerns: Adecco Survey
U.S. corporate executives are more worried about providing health care benefits to their employees than about issues like wages, taxes or attracting qualified workers, according to a survey by [Adecco SA]. ... 55 percent named health care benefits as their biggest current business challenge, and about a third say they are holding back hiring because of health care reforms introduced by U.S. President Barack Obama (Zieminski, 10/22).