The high price of health care

Health care costs too much. The U.S. spends twice as much as other wealthy nations and yet we have poorer outcomes. Patients in this country visit physicians less frequently and spend less time in hospitals than residents of other wealthy countries. So, why such high costs? It’s a complex issue with no simple answer.

Experts have identified three major factors contributing to this situation. The most significant is higher prices, followed by costly administrative complexity and finally, the use of ineffective or overly aggressive medical interventions that provide little benefit to patien...