Money can't buy you health
If there is one thing humans everywhere can agree on, it's the desire for a long and healthy life. Given the obvious relationship between the two, a natural assumption would be that the higher the investment in modern health care, the longer is life expectancy. Not necessarily.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an international nonprofit based in Paris and formed in 1961 to promote economic and social well-being worldwide, more spending doesn't always mean more life. The OECD is a major source of statistical health data which it collects from governments and other sources; top staff members are typically former government ministers and other high ranking officials from various nations. The U.S. is a founding member. According to a 2010 report (using raw data from 2007 or later), while the U.S. spends double the average amount on health care and ranks highest in that regard, we also have a below-average life expectancy. The first 10 rankings by order of annual spending per person, with correlating life expectancies are:
1. United States: $7,290; 78.2 years 2. Switzerland: $4,417; 82
3. Luxembourg: $4,162; 80.7 4. Canada: $3,895; 80.7
5. Austria: $3,763; 80.4 6. France: $3,601; 81.5
7. Denmark: $3,512; 79 8. Sweden: $3,323; 81.5
9. Australia: $3,137; 81.6 10. United Kingdom: $2,986; 80.4
Of interest is that only the U.K. has a balanced correlation between average spending and average life expectancy; the rest of the correlative lines run slanted in either direction. The lowest reported life expectancy was Turkey (73), with Slovak Republic, Mexico, and Poland not far behind (75, 75.5, and 75.8). Who lives longest? The Japanese, whose average is 83 and where they annually spend only $2,500 per person. Of course health care spending is only one factor. Diet is a big one, along with exercise and rates of disease. Still it does beg questions such as which combinations of health care delivery, access, and research systems are most effective. These data suggest it isn't how much we spend, but how we apply it that can meet life's lengthening desire.
Sholeh Patrick, J.D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email [email protected]