Health care in the United States - Wikipedia Health care in the United States This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( March 2017 ) This article is part of a series on Healthcare reform in the United States of America History Debate Legislation Preceding Social Security Amendments of 1965 EMTALA ( 1986 ) HIPAA ( 1996 ) Medicare Modernization Act ( 2003 ) PSQIA ( 2005 ) Superseded Affordable Health Care for America ( H.R. 3962 ) America 's Affordable Health Choices ( H.R. 3200 ) Baucus Health Bill ( S. 1796 ) Proposed American Health Care Act ( 2017 ) United States National Health Care Act ( 2009, H.R. 676 ) Healthy Americans Act ( 2007, 2009 ) Health Security Act ( H.R. 3600 ) Latest enacted Affordable Care Act ( H.R. 3590 ) Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act ( H.R. 4872 ) Reforms Recent legislative proposals Public opinion Reform advocacy groups Rationing Insurance coverage Systems Free market Health insurance exchange Nationalized insurance Publicly - funded Single - payer Canadian vs. American Two - tier Universal Third - party payment models All - payer rate setting Capitation Fee - for - service Global payment United States portal Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. 58 % of US community hospitals are non-profit, 21 % are government owned, and 21 % are for - profit. According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), the United States spent more on health care per capita ( $9,403 ), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP ( 17.1 % ), than any other nation in 2014. In 2013, 64 % of health spending was paid for by the government, and funded via programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children 's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. People aged under 67 acquire insurance via their or a family member 's employer, by purchasing health insurance on their own, or are uninsured. Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government in its role as employer. The United States life expectancy is of 78.6 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990, but only ranks 42nd among 224 nations, and 22nd out of the 35 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20th in 1990. In 2016 and 2017 the life expectancy dropped for the first time since 1993. Of 17 high - income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health, the United States in 2013, had the highest or near - highest prevalence of obesity, car accidents, infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, and homicides. On average, a U.S. male can be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in the top - ranked country, though notably Americans aged 75 live longer than those who reach that age in other developed nations. A 2014 survey of the healthcare systems of 11 developed countries found that the US healthcare system to be the most expensive and worst - performing in terms of health access, efficiency, and equity. Americans undergo cancer screenings at significantly higher rates than people in other developed countries, and access MRI and CT scans at the highest rate of any OECD nation. Gallup recorded that the uninsured rate among U.S. adults was 11.9 % for the first quarter of 2015, continuing the decline of the uninsured rate outset by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA ). Despite being among the top world economic powers, the US remains the sole industrialized nation in the world without universal health care coverage. Prohibitively high cost is the primary reason Americans give for problems accessing health care. At over 27 million, higher than the entire population of Australia, the number of people without health insurance coverage in the United States is one of the primary concerns raised by advocates of health care reform. Lack of health insurance is associated with increased mortality, about sixty thousand preventable deaths per year, depending on the study. A study done at Harvard Medical School with Cambridge Health Alliance showed that nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with a lack of patient health insurance. The study also found that uninsured, working Americans have a risk of death about 40 % higher compared to privately insured working Americans. A 2012 study for the years 2002 -- 2008 found that about 25 % of all senior citizens declared bankruptcy due to medical expenses, and 43 % were forced to mortgage or sell their primary residence. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA ) became law, providing for major changes in health insurance. Under the act, hospitals and primary physicians would change their practices financially, technologically, and clinically to drive better health outcomes, lower costs, and improve their methods of distribution and accessibility. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the law in June 2012 and affirmed insurance exchange subsidies in all states in June 2015. Contents 1 History 2 Statistics 2.1 Hospitalizations and health insurance 2.2 U.S. health care and its expenditures 2.3 Health care debate 2.4 Health in the U.S. in a global context 2.5 Causes of mortality in the U.S. 3 Providers 3.1 Facilities 3.2 Physicians ( M.D. and D.O. ) 3.3 Medical products, research and development 3.4 Healthcare provider employment in the United States 3.5 Alternative medicine 4 Spending 5 Regulation and oversight 5.1 Involved organizations and institutions 5.2 `` Certificates of need '' for hospitals 5.3 Licensing of providers 5.3. 1 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ( EMTALA ) 5.4 Quality assurance 6 Overall system effectiveness 6.1 Measures of effectiveness 6.1. 1 Access to care : cost, affordability, coverage 6.1. 2 Population health : quality, prevention, vulnerable populations 6.1. 3 Innovation : workforce, healthcare IT, R&D 6.2 Compared to other countries 7 System efficiency and equity 7.1 Efficiency 7.1. 1 Preventable deaths 7.1. 2 Value for money 7.1. 3 Delays in seeking care and increased use of emergency care 7.1. 4 Shared costs of the uninsured 7.1. 5 Variations in provider practices 7.1. 6 Care coordination 7.1. 7 Administrative costs 7.2 Third - party payment problem and consumer - driven insurance 7.3 Overall costs 7.4 Equity 7.4. 1 Coverage 7.4. 2 Mental health 7.4. 3 Medical underwriting and the uninsurable 7.4. 4 Demographic differences 8 Prescription drug issues 8.1 Drug efficiency and safety 8.2 Prescription drug prices 8.2. 1 Impact of drug companies 9 Healthcare reform debate 9.1 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( 2010 ) 10 Health insurance coverage for immigrants 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links History Main article : History of medicine in the United States The Polio vaccine was discovered by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world. This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. ( December 2017 ) Statistics Hospitalizations and health insurance A study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ), found that there were 38.6 million hospital stays in the U.S. in 2011, up 11 % since 1997. Since the population was also growing, the hospitalization rate remained stable at approximately 1,200 stays per 10,000 population during this period. Information from 2012 indicates that there was a slight decrease in hospital stays compared to 2011, 36.5 million. Hospital stays in 2011 averaged 4.5 days and cost an average of $10,400 per stay. A study by the National Institutes of Health reported that the lifetime per capita expenditure at birth, using year 2000 dollars, showed a large difference between health care costs of females ( $361,192 ) and males ( $268,679 ). A large portion of this cost difference is in the shorter lifespan of men, but even after adjustment for age ( assume men live as long as women ), there still is a 20 % difference in lifetime health care expenditures. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 49.9 million residents, 16.3 % of the population, were uninsured in 2010 ( up from 49.0 million residents, 16.1 % of the population, in 2009 ). A 2009 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 46.2 % of all personal bankruptcies and in 2007, 62.1 % of filers for bankruptcies claimed high medical expenses. Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have increased. A 2013 study found that about 25 % of all senior citizens declare bankruptcy due to medical expenses. U.S. health care and its expenditures See also : Health care prices in the United States The World Health Organization ( WHO ), in 2000, ranked the U.S. health care system as the highest in cost, first in responsiveness, 37th in overall performance, and 72nd by overall level of health ( among 191 member nations included in the study ). In 2008 the Commonwealth Fund, an advocacy group seeking greater government involvement in US healthcare, then led by former Carter administration official Karen Davis, ranked the United States last in the quality of health care among similar countries, and noted U.S. care costs the most. According to the WHO, the United States spent more on health care per capita ( $9,990 ), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP ( 17.8 % ), than any other nation in 2008. In 2013 the U.S. spent 17.1 % of its total GDP on healthcare, 50 % more than the second highest spending country, France ( 11.6 % ). In 2014, the U.S. spent $2.6 trillion ( a 5.0 % increase from 2013 ) on personal health care expenditures, in 2015 the U.S. spent $3.2 trillion which is about 17.8 %. Per capita spending was $8,054 in 2014 -- up from $7,727 in 2013. In 2011, the U.S. paid nearly twice as much as Canada yet lagged behind other wealthy nations in such measures as infant mortality and life expectancy. As of 2009, the U.S. had a higher infant mortality rate than most of the world 's industrialized nations. Diseases such as Diabetes and Heart disease are among the most expensive conditions to treat because of their chronic nature, and take up about 85 % of health care costs. These conditions have been on the rise recently and is one factor leading the increase in health care expenditure. Health care debate Active debate about health care reform in the United States concerns questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, efficiency, cost, choice, value, and quality. Some have argued that the system does not deliver equivalent value for the money spent. According to a 2004 Institute of Medicine ( IOM ) report : `` The United States is among the few industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee access to health care for its population. '' A 2004 OECD report said : `` With the exception of Mexico, Turkey, and the United States, all OECD countries had achieved universal or near - universal ( at least 98.4 % insured ) coverage of their populations by 1990. '' The 2004 IOM report observed that `` lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States '', while a 2009 Harvard study conducted by co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program, a pro-single payer advocacy group, estimated that 44,800 excess deaths occurred annually due to lack of health insurance. The group 's methodology has been criticized by economist John C. Goodman for not looking at cause of death or tracking insurance status changes over time, including the time of death. Further, a 2009 study by former Clinton policy adviser Richard Kronick found no increased mortality from being uninsured after certain risk factors were controlled for, and specifically criticized the methodology used by IOM. Between 2004 and 2013 a trend of high rates of un - and underinsurance and wage stagnation contributed to a health - care consumption decline for low - income Americans. This trend was reversed after the implementation of the major provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act ( ACA ) in 2014. Lack of insurance or higher cost sharing ( user fees for the patient with insurance ) create barriers to accessing health care : use of care declines with increasing patient cost - sharing obligation. Before the ACA passed in 2014, 39 % of below - average income Americans reported forgoing seeing a doctor for a medical issue ( whereas 7 % of low - income Canadians and 1 % of low - income UK citizens reported the same ). Forgone medical care due to extensive cost sharing may ultimately increase costs due to downstream medical issues ; this dynamic may play a part in U.S. 's international ranking as having the highest health - care expenditures despite significant patient cost - sharing. As of 2017, the possibility that the ACA may be repealed or replaced has intensified interest in the question of whether -- and how -- health insurance coverage affects health and mortality. Several studies have indicated that there was an association with expansion of the ACA and factors associated with better health outcomes such as having a regular source of care and the ability to afford care. A 2016 study concluded that around 60 % increased ability to afford care can be attributed to Medicaid expansion provisions enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Additionally, an analysis of changes in mortality post Medicaid expansion suggests that Medicaid saves lives at a relatively more cost effective rate of a societal cost of $327,000 - 867,000 per life saved compared to other public policies which cost an average of $7.6 million per life. Health in the U.S. in a Global context The United States is within the Region of the Americas or AMRO ( a World Health Organization classification ). Within AMRO, the U.S. had the third lowest under - five child mortality rate ( U5MR ) in 2015. In 2015, the under - five child mortality rate was 6.5 deaths per 1000 live births, less than half the regional average of 14.7. The U.S. had the second lowest maternal mortality in AMRO, 14 per 100,000 live births, well below the regional average of 52. Life expectancy at birth for a child born in the U.S. in 2015 is 81.2 ( females ) or 76.3 ( males ) years, compared to 79.9 ( females ) or 74 ( males ) years ( AMRO regional estimates ). Globally, average life expectancy is 73.8 for females and 69.1 for males born in 2015. United States 2015 mortality and life expectancy in a global context Indictor U.S. Region of the Americas Globe European Region South East - Asia Region African Region Western Pacific Region Eastern Mediterranean Region Under - five child mortality rate ( deaths per 1000 live births ) 6.5 14.2 40.8 9.6 38.9 76.5 12.9 51.7 Maternal mortality ratio ( deaths per 100,000 live births ) 14 52 216 16 164 542 41 166 Life Expectancy ( at birth in years ) 81.6 ( females ) 76.9 ( males ) 79.9 ( females ) 74 ( males ) 73.8 ( females ) 69.1 ( males ) 80.2 ( females ) 73.2 ( males ) 70.7 ( females ) 67.3 ( males ) 61.8 ( females ) 58.3 ( males ) 78.7 ( females ) 74.5 ( males ) 70.3 ( females ) 67.3 ( males ) Data obtained from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory data repository. The 2015 global average for under - five child mortality was 42.5 per 1000 live births. The U.S. 's under - five child mortality of 6.5 is more than 6 times less. The 2015 global average for maternal mortality was 216, the United State 's average of 14 maternal deaths 100,000 live births is more than 15 times less, however Canada had half as many ( 7 ) and Finland, Greece, Iceland and Poland each only had 3. While not as high in 2015 ( 14 ) as in 2013 ( 18.5 ), maternal deaths related to childbirth have shown recent increases ; in 1987, the mortality ratio was 7.2 per 100,000. As of 2015, the American rate is double the maternal mortality rate in Belgium or Canada, and more than triple the rate in the Finland as well as several other Western European countries. According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy in the U.S. is 31st in the world ( out of 183 countries ) as of 2015. The U.S. 's average life expectancy ( both sexes is just over 79 ). Japan ranks first with an average life expectancy of nearly 84 years. Sierra Leone ranks last with a life expectancy of just over 50 years. However, the U.S. ranks lower ( 36th ) when considering health - adjusted life expectancy ( HALE ) at just over 69 years. Another source, the Central Intelligence Agency, indicates life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is 79.8, ranking the U.S. 42nd in the world. Monaco is first on this list of 224, with an average life expectancy of 89.5. Chad is last with 50.2. Life Expectancy of high - income countries in 2015. Aa 2013 National Research Council study stated that, when considered as one of 17 high - income countries, the United States was at or near the top in infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, homicides, and rates of disability. Together, such issues place the U.S. at the bottom of the list for life expectancy in high - income countries. As of 2007, U.S. males could be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in Switzerland, and U.S. females could be expected to live over 5 years less than women in Japan. Females born in the U.S. in 2015 have a life expectancy of 81.6 years, and males 76.9 years ; more than 3 years less and as much as over 5 years less than people born in Switzerland ( 85.3 F, 81.3 M ) or Japan ( 86.8 F, 80.5 M ) in 2015. Causes of mortality in the U.S. The top three causes of death among both sexes and all ages in the U.S. have consistently remained cardiovascular diseases ( ranked 1st ), neoplasms ( 2nd ) and neurological disorders ( 3rd ), since the 1990s. Chronic lower respiratory disease. In 2015, the total amount of deaths by heart disease was 633,842, by Cancer it was 595,930, and from Chronic lower respiratory disease it was 155,041. In 2015, 267.18 per 100,000 deaths were caused by cardiovascular diseases, 204.63 by neoplasms and 100.66 by neurological disorders. Diarrhea, lower respiratory and other common infections were ranked 6th overall, but had the highest rate of infectious disease mortality in the U.S. at 31.65 deaths per 100,000. There is evidence, however, that a large proportion of health outcomes and early mortality can be attributed to factors other than communicable or non-communicable disease. As a 2013 National Research Council study concluded, more than half the men who die before 50 die due to murder ( 19 % ), traffic accidents ( 18 % ), and other accidents ( 16 % ). For women, the percentages are different. 53 % of women who die before 50 die due to disease, whereas 38 % die due to accidents, homicide, and suicide. Providers Health care providers in the U.S. encompass individual health care personnel, health care facilities and medical products. Facilities Main article : Medical centers in the United States In the U.S., ownership of the health care system is mainly in private hands, though federal, state, county, and city governments also own certain facilities. As of 2018, there were 5,534 registered hospitals in the United States. There were 4,840 community hospitals, which are defined as nonfederal, short - term general, or specialty hospitals. The non-profit hospitals share of total hospital capacity has remained relatively stable ( about 70 % ) for decades. There are also privately owned for - profit hospitals as well as government hospitals in some locations, mainly owned by county and city governments. The Hill - Burton Act was passed in 1946, which provided federal funding for hospitals in exchange for treating poor patients. US Department of Veterans Affairs vertical logo There is no nationwide system of government - owned medical facilities open to the general public but there are local government - owned medical facilities open to the general public. The U.S. Department of Defense operates field hospitals as well as permanent hospitals via the Military Health System to provide military - funded care to active military personnel. The federal Veterans Health Administration operates VA hospitals open only to veterans, though veterans who seek medical care for conditions they did not receive while serving in the military are charged for services. The Indian Health Service ( IHS ) operates facilities open only to Native Americans from recognized tribes. These facilities, plus tribal facilities and privately contracted services funded by IHS to increase system capacity and capabilities, provide medical care to tribespeople beyond what can be paid for by any private insurance or other government programs. Hospitals provide some outpatient care in their emergency rooms and specialty clinics, but primarily exist to provide inpatient care. Hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers are sources of sporadic problem - focused care. Surgicenters are examples of specialty clinics. Hospice services for the terminally ill who are expected to live six months or less are most commonly subsidized by charities and government. Prenatal, family planning, and dysplasia clinics are government - funded obstetric and gynecologic specialty clinics respectively, and are usually staffed by nurse practitioners. Services, particularly urgent - care services, may also be delivered remotely via telemedicine by providers such as Teladoc. Besides government and private health care facilities, there are also 355 registered free clinics in the United States that provide limited medical services. They are considered to be part of the social safety net for those who lack health insurance. Their services may range from more acute care ( i.e. STDs, injuries, respiratory diseases ) to long term care ( i.e. dentistry, counseling ). Another component of the healthcare safety net would be federally funded community health centers. Physicians ( MD and do ) Main article : Physician in the United States Physicians in the U.S. include those trained by the U.S. medical education system, and those that are international medical graduates who have progressed through the necessary steps to acquire a medical license to practice in a state. This includes going through the three steps of the Medical Licensing Examination ( USMLE ). The first step of the USMLE tests whether medical students both understand and are capable of applying the basic scientific foundations to medicine after the second year of medical school. The topics include : anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, behavioral sciences, nutrition, genetics, and aging. The step 2 is designed to test whether medical students can apply their medical skills and knowledge to actual clinical practice during students ' fourth year of medical school. The step 3 is done after the first year of residency. It tests whether students can apply medical knowledge to the unsupervised practice of medicine. The American College of Physicians, uses the term physician to describe all medical practitioners holding a professional medical degree. In the U.S., the vast majority of physicians have a Doctor of Medicine ( M.D. ) degree. Those with Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine ( D.O. ) degrees get similar training and go through the same MLE steps as MD 's and so are also allowed to use the title `` physician ''. D.O. 's get additional training in the musculoskeletal system and are allowed to perform osteopathic manipulative treatment ( OMT ), a hands - on technique to help facilitate the body 's natural healing capabilities, similar to chiropracty. Medical products, Research and development As in most other countries, the manufacture and production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices is carried out by private companies. The research and development of medical devices and pharmaceuticals is supported by both public and private sources of funding. In 2003, research and development expenditures were approximately $95 billion with $40 billion coming from public sources and $55 billion coming from private sources. These investments into medical research have made the United States the leader in medical innovation, measured either in terms of revenue or the number of new drugs and devices introduced. In 2016 the research and development spending by pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. was estimated to be around 59 billion dollars. In 2006, the United States accounted for three quarters of the world 's biotechnology revenues and 82 % of world R&D spending in biotechnology. According to multiple international pharmaceutical trade groups, the high cost of patented drugs in the U.S. has encouraged substantial reinvestment in such research and development. Though PPACA, also known as Obamacare or ACA, will force industry to sell medicine at a cheaper price. Due to this, it is possible budget cuts will be made on research and development of human health and medicine in America. Healthcare provider Employment in the United States This section is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states a Wikipedia editor 's personal feelings about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. ( April 2017 ) A large demographic shift in the United States is putting pressure on the medical system as `` baby boomers '' reach retirement age. The demographic shift to an older population is projected to increase medical spending in North America by at least 5 %, creating a funding challenge that the government ( through medicare and other social services ), insurance companies, and individual savings accounts will strain to absorb. The expenditure on health services for people over 45 years old is 8.3 times the maximum of that of those under 45 years old. Finally, the older population is rapidly increasing demand for healthcare services despite the tight budgets and reduced workforce. All of these factors put pressure on wages and working conditions, with the majority of healthcare jobs seeing salary reductions between 2009 and 2011. Alternative Medicine Outside of the standard health care system, more and more people are seeking alternative treatment options. These treatments are defined as therapies generally not taught in medical school nor available in hospitals. They include herbs, massages, energy healing, homeopathy, and more. A national survey found that from 1990 to 1997, the use of at least one alternative therapy has increased from 33.8 % to 42.1 %. More recent studies concurred that about 40 % of adults in 2007 used some form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine within the past year. Their reasons for seeking these alternative approaches included improving their well - being, engaging in a transformational experience, gaining more control over their own health, or finding a better way to relieve symptoms caused by chronic disease. They aim to treat not just physical illness but fix its underlying nutritional, social, emotional, and spiritual causes. Most users pay for these services out of pocket, as insurance tends to provide either partial or no coverage of most services. Total out of pocket costs in 1997 were estimated to be about $27.0 billion. Spending Main article : Health care spending in the United States U.S. healthcare costs exceed those of other countries, relative to the size of the economy or GDP. Aggregate U.S. hospital costs were $387.3 billion in 2011 -- a 63 % increase since 1997 ( inflation adjusted ). Costs per stay increased 47 % since 1997, averaging $10,000 in 2011. According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), total health care spending in the U.S. was 18 % of its GDP in 2011, the highest in the world. The Health and Human Services Department expects that the health share of GDP will continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19 % of GDP by 2017. Of each dollar spent on health care in the United States, 31 % goes to hospital care, 21 % goes to physician / clinical services, 10 % to pharmaceuticals, 4 % to dental, 6 % to nursing homes and 3 % to home health care, 3 % for other retail products, 3 % for government public health activities, 7 % to administrative costs, 7 % to investment, and 6 % to other professional services ( physical therapists, optometrists, etc. ). As of 2007, around 85 % of Americans had some form of health insurance ; either through their employer or the employer of their spouse or parent ( 59 % ), purchased individually ( 9 % ), or provided by government programs ( 28 % ; there is some overlap in these figures ). Among those whose employer pays for health insurance, the employee may be required to contribute part of the cost of this insurance, while the employer usually chooses the insurance company and, for large groups, negotiates with the insurance company. Government programs directly cover 28 % of the population ( 83 million ), including the elderly, disabled, children, veterans, and some of the poor, and federal law mandates public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. Public spending accounts for between 45 % and 56 % of U.S. health care spending. Administration of health care constitutes 30 percent of U.S. health - care costs. Regulation and oversight Further information : American Board of Medical Specialties, United States Medical Licensing Examination, and National Association of Insurance Commissioners Involved organizations and institutions Healthcare is subject to extensive regulation at both the federal and the state level, much of which `` arose haphazardly ''. Under this system, the federal government cedes primary responsibility to the states under the McCarran - Ferguson Act. Essential regulation includes the licensure of health care providers at the state level and the testing and approval of pharmaceuticals and medical devices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), and laboratory testing. These regulations are designed to protect consumers from ineffective or fraudulent healthcare. Additionally, states regulate the health insurance market and they often have laws which require that health insurance companies cover certain procedures, although state mandates generally do not apply to the self - funded health care plans offered by large employers, which exempt from state laws under preemption clause of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA ) was signed by President Barack Obama and includes various new regulations, with one of the most notable being a health insurance mandate which requires all citizens to purchase health insurance. While not regulation per se, the federal government also has a major influence on the healthcare market through its payments to providers under Medicare and Medicaid, which in some cases are used as a reference point in the negotiations between medical providers and insurance companies. At the federal level, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services oversees the various federal agencies involved in health care. The health agencies are a part of the U.S. Public Health Service, and include the Food and Drug Administration, which certifies the safety of food, effectiveness of drugs and medical products, the Centers for Disease Prevention, which prevents disease, premature death, and disability, the Agency of Health Care Research and Quality, the Agency Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which regulates hazardous spills of toxic substances, and the National Institutes of Health, which conducts medical research. State governments maintain state health departments, and local governments ( counties and municipalities ) often have their own health departments, usually branches of the state health department. Regulations of a state board may have executive and police strength to enforce state health laws. In some states, all members of state boards must be health care professionals. Members of state boards may be assigned by the governor or elected by the state committee. Members of local boards may be elected by the mayor council. The McCarran -- Ferguson Act, which cedes regulation to the states, does not itself regulate insurance, nor does it mandate that states regulate insurance. `` Acts of Congress '' that do not expressly purport to regulate the `` business of insurance '' will not preempt state laws or regulations that regulate the `` business of insurance. '' The Act also provides that federal anti-trust laws will not apply to the `` business of insurance '' as long as the state regulates in that area, but federal anti-trust laws will apply in cases of boycott, coercion, and intimidation. By contrast, most other federal laws will not apply to insurance whether the states regulate in that area or not. Self - policing of providers by providers is a major part of oversight. Many health care organizations also voluntarily submit to inspection and certification by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations, JCAHO. Providers also undergo testing to obtain board certification attesting to their skills. A report issued by Public Citizen in April 2008 found that, for the third year in a row, the number of serious disciplinary actions against physicians by state medical boards declined from 2006 to 2007, and called for more oversight of the boards. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS ) publishes an on - line searchable database of performance data on nursing homes. In 2004, libertarian think tank Cato Institute published a study which concluded that regulation provides benefits in the amount of $170 billion but costs the public up to $340 billion. The study concluded that the majority of the cost differential arises from medical malpractice, FDA regulations, and facilities regulations. `` Certificates of need '' for hospitals In 1978, the federal government required that all states implement Certificate of Need ( CON ) programs for cardiac care, meaning that hospitals had to apply and receive certificates prior to implementing the program ; the intent was to reduce cost by reducing duplicate investments in facilities. It has been observed that these certificates could be used to increase costs through weakened competition. Many states removed the CON programs after the federal requirement expired in 1986, but some states still have these programs. Empirical research looking at the costs in areas where these programs have been discontinued have not found a clear effect on costs, and the CON programs could decrease costs because of reduced facility construction or increase costs due to reduced competition. Licensing of providers The American Medical Association ( AMA ) has lobbied the government to highly limit physician education since 1910, currently at 100,000 doctors per year, which has led to a shortage of doctors and physicians ' wages in the U.S. are double those in the Europe, which is a major reason for the more expensive health care. An even bigger problem may be that the doctors are paid for procedures instead of results. The AMA has also aggressively lobbied for many restrictions that require doctors to carry out operations that might be carried out by cheaper workforce. For example, in 1995, 36 states banned or restricted midwifery even though it delivers equally safe care to that by doctors. The regulation lobbied by the AMA has decreased the amount and quality of health care, according to the consensus of economist : the restrictions do not add to quality, they decrease the supply of care. Moreover, psychologists, nurses and pharmacists are not allowed to prescribe medicines. Previously nurses were not even allowed to vaccinate the patients without direct supervision by doctors. 36 states require that health care workers undergo criminal background checks. Emergency medical treatment and active Labor Act ( EMTALA ) Main article : Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act EMTALA, enacted by the federal government in 1986, requires that hospital emergency departments treat emergency conditions of all patients regardless of their ability to pay and is considered a critical element in the `` safety net '' for the uninsured, but established no direct payment mechanism for such care. Indirect payments and reimbursements through federal and state government programs have never fully compensated public and private hospitals for the full cost of care mandated by EMTALA. More than half of all emergency care in the U.S. now goes uncompensated. According to some analyses, EMTALA is an unfunded mandate that has contributed to financial pressures on hospitals in the last 20 years, causing them to consolidate and close facilities, and contributing to emergency room overcrowding. According to the Institute of Medicine, between 1993 and 2003, emergency room visits in the U.S. grew by 26 %, while in the same period, the number of emergency departments declined by 425. Mentally ill patients present a unique challenge for emergency departments and hospitals. In accordance with EMTALA, mentally ill patients who enter emergency rooms are evaluated for emergency medical conditions. Once mentally ill patients are medically stable, regional mental health agencies are contacted to evaluate them. Patients are evaluated as to whether they are a danger to themselves or others. Those meeting this criterion are admitted to a mental health facility to be further evaluated by a psychiatrist. Typically, mentally ill patients can be held for up to 72 hours, after which a court order is required. Quality assurance See also : Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Health care quality assurance consists of the `` activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care ; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care ; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies ; and follow - up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps. '' Private companies such as Grand Rounds also release quality information and offer services to employers and plans to map quality within their networks. One innovation in encouraging quality of health care is the public reporting of the performance of hospitals, health professionals or providers, and healthcare organizations. However, there is `` no consistent evidence that the public release of performance data changes consumer behaviour or improves care. '' Overall system effectiveness Measures of effectiveness The US health care delivery system unevenly provides medical care of varying quality to its population. In a highly effective health care system, individuals would receive reliable care that meets their needs and is based on the best scientific knowledge available. In order to monitor and evaluate system effectiveness, researchers and policy makers track system measures and trends over time. The US Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) populates a publicly available dashboard called, the Health System Measurement Project ( healthmeasures.aspe.hhs.gov ), to ensure a robust monitoring system. The dashboard captures the access, quality and cost of care ; overall population health ; and health system dynamics ( e.g., workforce, innovation, health information technology ). Included measures align with other system performance measuring activities including the HHS Strategic Plan, the Government Performance and Results Act, Healthy People 2020, and the National Strategies for Quality and Prevention. Access to care : cost, Affordability, coverage The US health system does not provide health care to the country 's entire population. Individuals acquire health insurance to offset health care spending. However, lack of adequate health insurance persists and is a known barrier to accessing the healthcare system and receiving appropriate and timely care. Measures of accessibility and affordability tracked by national health surveys include : having a usual source of medical care, visiting the dentist yearly, rates of preventable hospitalizations, reported difficulty seeing a specialist, delaying care due to cost, and rates of health insurance coverage. As a country, rising health care costs have raised concerns among the public and private sector alike. Between 2000 and 2011, health care expenditures nearly doubled, growing from $1.2 trillion to $2.3 trillion ( CDC Health, United States, 2013 ). Evidence suggests the rate of growth has slowed in recent years. Other measures of cost captured by national surveys include : health insurance premiums, high out of pocket costs ( e.g., deductibles, copayments ), and national health expenditures including individual, employer, and government expenditures. Population health : quality, Prevention, vulnerable populations The health of the population is also viewed as a measure of the overall effectiveness of the healthcare system. The extent to which the population lives longer healthier lives signals an effective system. While life expectancy is one measure, HHS uses a composite health measure that estimates not only the average length of life, but also, the part of life expectancy that is expected to be `` in good or better health, as well as free of activity limitations. '' Between 1997 and 2010, the number of expected high quality life years increased from 61.1 to 63.2 years for newborns. The underutilization of preventative measures, rates of preventable illness and prevalence of chronic disease suggest that the US healthcare system does not sufficiently promote wellness. Over the past decade rates of teen pregnancy and low birth rates have come down significantly, but not disappeared. Rates of obesity, heart disease ( high blood pressure, controlled high cholesterol ), and type 2 diabetes are areas of major concern. While chronic disease and multiple co-morbidities became increasingly common among a population of elderly Americans who were living longer, the public health system has also found itself fending off a rise of chronically ill younger generation. According to the US Surgeon General `` The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. more than doubled ( from 15 % to 34 % ) among adults and more than tripled ( from 5 % to 17 % ) among children and adolescents from 1980 to 2008. '' A concern for the health system is that the health gains do not accrue equally to the entire population. In the United States, disparities in health care and health outcomes are widespread. Minorities are more likely to suffer from serious illnesses ( e.g., type 2 diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer ) and less likely to have access to quality health care, including preventative services. Efforts are underway to close the gap and to provide a more equitable system of care. Innovation : workforce, healthcare it, R&D Finally, the United States tracks investment in the healthcare system in terms of a skilled healthcare workforce, meaningful use of healthcare IT, and R&D output. This aspect of the healthcare system performance dashboard is important to consider when evaluating cost of care in America. That is because in much of the policy debate around the high cost of US healthcare, proponents of highly specialized and cutting edge technologies point to innovation as a marker of an effective health care system. Compared to other countries Life expectancy compared to healthcare spending from 1970 to 2008, in the US and the next 19 most wealthy countries by total GDP. A 2014 study by the private American foundation The Commonwealth Fund found that although the U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world, it ranks last on most dimensions of performance when compared with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The study found that the United States failed to achieve better outcomes than other countries, and is last or near last in terms of access, efficiency and equity. Study date came from international surveys of patients and primary care physicians, as well as information on health care outcomes from The Commonwealth Fund, the World Health Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The U.S. stands 50th in the world with a life expectancy of 78.49. The CIA World Factbook ranked the United States 174th worst ( out of 222 ) -- meaning 48th best -- in the world for infant mortality rate ( 5.98 / 1,000 live births ). A study found that between 1997 and 2003, preventable deaths declined more slowly in the United States than in 18 other industrialized nations. A 2008 study found that 101,000 people a year die in the U.S. that would not if the health care system were as effective as that of France, Japan, or Australia. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) found that the U.S. ranked poorly in terms of years of potential life lost ( YPLL ), a statistical measure of years of life lost under the age of 70 that were amenable to being saved by health care. Among OECD nations for which data are available, the United States ranked third last for the health care of women ( after Mexico and Hungary ) and fifth last for men ( Slovakia and Poland also ranked worse ). Further information : Years of potential life lost Recent studies find growing gaps in life expectancy based on income and geography. In 2008, a government - sponsored study found that life expectancy declined from 1983 to 1999 for women in 180 counties, and for men in 11 counties, with most of the life expectancy declines occurring in the Deep South, Appalachia, along the Mississippi River, in the Southern Plains and in Texas. The difference is as high as three years for men, six years for women. The gap is growing between rich and poor and by educational level, but narrowing between men and women and by race. Another study found that the mortality gap between the well - educated and the poorly educated widened significantly between 1993 and 2001 for adults ages 25 through 64 ; the authors speculated that risk factors such as smoking, obesity and high blood pressure may lie behind these disparities. In 2011 the U.S. National Research Council forecasted that deaths attributed to smoking, on the decline in the US, will drop dramatically, improving life expectancy ; it also suggested that one - fifth to one - third of the life expectancy difference can be attributed to obesity which is the worst in the world and has been increasing. In an analysis of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer diagnosed during 1990 -- 1994 in 31 countries, the U.S. had the highest five - year relative survival rate for breast cancer and prostate cancer, although survival was systematically and substantially lower in black U.S. men and women. The debate about U.S. health care concerns questions of access, efficiency, and quality purchased by the high sums spent. The World Health Organization ( WHO ) in 2000 ranked the U.S. health care system first in responsiveness, but 37th in overall performance and 72nd by overall level of health ( among 191 member nations included in the study ). The WHO study has been criticized by the free market advocate David Gratzer because `` fairness in financial contribution '' was used as an assessment factor, marking down countries with high per - capita private or fee - paying health treatment. The WHO study has been criticized, in an article published in Health Affairs, for its failure to include the satisfaction ratings of the general public. The study found that there was little correlation between the WHO rankings for health systems and the stated satisfaction of citizens using those systems. Countries such as Italy and Spain, which were given the highest ratings by WHO were ranked poorly by their citizens while other countries, such as Denmark and Finland, were given low scores by WHO but had the highest percentages of citizens reporting satisfaction with their health care systems. WHO staff, however, say that the WHO analysis does reflect system `` responsiveness '' and argue that this is a superior measure to consumer satisfaction, which is influenced by expectations. Furthermore, the relationship between patient satisfaction and health care utilization, expenditures, and outcomes is complex and not well defined. A report released in April 2008 by the Foundation for Child Development, which studied the period from 1994 through 2006, found mixed results for the health of children in the U.S. Mortality rates for children ages 1 through 4 dropped by a third, and the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels dropped by 84 %. The percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy also declined. On the other hand, both obesity and the percentage of low - birth weight babies increased. The authors note that the increase in babies born with low birth weights can be attributed to women delaying childbearing and the increased use of fertility drugs. In a sample of 13 developed countries the US was third in its population weighted usage of medication in 14 classes in both 2009 and 2013. The drugs studied were selected on the basis that the conditions treated had high incidence, prevalence and / or mortality, caused significant long - term morbidity and incurred high levels of expenditure and significant developments in prevention or treatment had been made in the last 10 years. The study noted considerable difficulties in cross border comparison of medication use. System efficiency and equity Variations in the efficiency of health care delivery can cause variations in outcomes. The Dartmouth Atlas Project, for instance, reported that, for over 20 years, marked variations in how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States were accompanied by marked variations in outcomes. The willingness of physicians to work in an area varies with the income of the area and the amenities it offers, a situation aggravated by a general shortage of doctors in the United States, particularly those who offer primary care. The Affordable Care Act, if implemented, will produce an additional demand for services which the existing stable of primary care doctors will be unable to fill, particularly in economically depressed areas. Training additional physicians would require some years. Lean manufacturing techniques such as value stream mapping can help identify and subsequently mitigate waste associated with costs of healthcare. Other product engineering tools such as FMEA and Fish Bone Diagrams have been used to improve efficiencies in healthcare delivery. Efficiency Preventable deaths In 2010, coronary artery disease, lung cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and traffic accidents caused the most years of life lost in the US. Low back pain, depression, musculoskeletal disorders, neck pain, and anxiety caused the most years lost to disability. The most deleterious risk factors were poor diet, tobacco smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, physical inactivity, and alcohol use. Alzheimer 's disease, drug abuse, kidney disease and cancer, and falls caused the most additional years of life lost over their age - adjusted 1990 per - capita rates. Between 1990 and 2010, among the 34 countries in the OECD, the US dropped from 18th to 27th in age - standardized death rate. The US dropped from 23rd to 28th for age - standardized years of life lost. It dropped from 20th to 27th in life expectancy at birth. It dropped from 14th to 26th for healthy life expectancy. According to a 2009 study conducted at Harvard Medical School by co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program, a pro-single payer lobbying group, and published by the American Journal of Public Health, lack of health coverage is associated with nearly 45,000 excess preventable deaths annually. Since then, as the number of uninsured has risen from about 46 million in 2009 to 49 million in 2012, the number of preventable deaths due to lack of insurance has grown to about 48,000 per year. The group 's methodology has been criticized by economist John C. Goodman for not looking at cause of death or tracking insurance status changes over time, including the time of death. A 2009 study by former Clinton policy adviser Richard Kronick published in the journal Health Services Research found no increased mortality from being uninsured after certain risk factors were controlled for. Value for money A study of international health care spending levels published in the health policy journal Health Affairs in the year 2000 found that the United States spends substantially more on health care than any other country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ), and that the use of health care services in the U.S. is below the OECD median by most measures. The authors of the study conclude that the prices paid for health care services are much higher in the U.S. than elsewhere. While the 19 next most wealthy countries by GDP all pay less than half what the U.S. does for health care, they have all gained about six years of life expectancy more than the U.S. since 1970. Delays in seeking care and increased use of emergency care Uninsured Americans are less likely to have regular health care and use preventive services. They are more likely to delay seeking care, resulting in more medical crises, which are more expensive than ongoing treatment for such conditions as diabetes and high blood pressure. A 2007 study published in JAMA concluded that uninsured people were less likely than the insured to receive any medical care after an accidental injury or the onset of a new chronic condition. The uninsured with an injury were also twice as likely as those with insurance to have received none of the recommended follow - up care, and a similar pattern held for those with a new chronic condition. Uninsured patients are twice as likely to visit hospital emergency rooms as those with insurance ; burdening a system meant for true emergencies with less - urgent care needs. In 2008 researchers with the American Cancer Society found that individuals who lacked private insurance ( including those covered by Medicaid ) were more likely to be diagnosed with late - stage cancer than those who had such insurance. Shared costs of the uninsured Main article : Health insurance coverage in the United States The costs of treating the uninsured must often be absorbed by providers as charity care, passed on to the insured via cost shifting and higher health insurance premiums, or paid by taxpayers through higher taxes. However, hospitals and other providers are reimbursed for the cost of providing uncompensated care via a federal matching fund program. Each state enacts legislation governing the reimbursement of funds to providers. In Missouri, for example, providers assessments totaling $800 million are matched -- $2 for each assessed $1 -- to create a pool of approximately $2 billion. By federal law these funds are transferred to the Missouri Hospital Association for disbursement to hospitals for the costs incurred providing uncompensated care including Disproportionate Share Payments ( to hospitals with high quantities of uninsured patients ), Medicaid shortfalls, Medicaid managed care payments to insurance companies and other costs incurred by hospitals. In New Hampshire, by statute, reimbursable uncompensated care costs shall include : charity care costs, any portion of Medicaid patient care costs that are unreimbursed by Medicaid payments, and any portion of bad debt costs that the commissioner determines would meet the criteria under 42 U.S.C. section 1396r - 4 ( g ) governing hospital - specific limits on disproportionate share hospital payments under Title XIX of the Social Security Act. A report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in April 2008 found that economic downturns place a significant strain on state Medicaid and SCHIP programs. The authors estimated that a 1 % increase in the unemployment rate would increase Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment by 1 million, and increase the number uninsured by 1.1 million. State spending on Medicaid and SCHIP would increase by $1.4 billion ( total spending on these programs would increase by $3.4 billion ). This increased spending would occur at the same time state government revenues were declining. During the last downturn, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 ( JGTRRA ) included federal assistance to states, which helped states avoid tightening their Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility rules. The authors conclude that Congress should consider similar relief for the current economic downturn. Variations in provider practices The treatment given to a patient can vary significantly depending on which health care providers they use. Research suggests that some cost - effective treatments are not used as often as they should be, while overutilization occurs with other health care services. Unnecessary treatments increase costs and can cause patients unnecessary anxiety. The use of prescription drugs varies significantly by geographic region. The overuse of medical benefits is known as moral hazard -- individuals who are insured are then more inclined to consume health care. The way the Health care system tries to eliminate this problem is through cost sharing tactics like co-pays and deductibles. If patients face more of the economic burden they will then only consume health care when they perceive it to be necessary. According to the RAND health insurance experiment, individuals with higher Coinsurance rates consumed less health care than those with lower rates. The experiment concluded that with less consumption of care there was generally no loss in societal welfare but, for the poorer and sicker groups of people there were definitely negative effects. These patients were forced to forgo necessary preventative care measures in order to save money leading to late diagnosis of easily treated diseases and more expensive procedures later. With less preventative care, the patient is hurt financially with an increase in expensive visits to the ER. The Health Care costs in the U.S will also rise with these procedures as well. More expensive procedures lead to greater costs. One study has found significant geographic variations in Medicare spending for patients in the last two years of life. These spending levels are associated with the amount of hospital capacity available in each area. Higher spending did not result in patients living longer. Care coordination Primary care doctors are often the point of entry for most patients needing care, but in the fragmented health care system of the U.S., many patients and their providers experience problems with care coordination. For example, a Harris Interactive survey of California physicians found that : Four of every ten physicians report that their patients have had problems with coordination of their care in the last 12 months. More than 60 % of doctors report that their patients `` sometimes '' or `` often '' experience long wait times for diagnostic tests. Some 20 % of doctors report having their patients repeat tests because of an inability to locate the results during a scheduled visit. According to an article in The New York Times, the relationship between doctors and patients is deteriorating. A study from Johns Hopkins University found that roughly one in four patients believe their doctors have exposed them to unnecessary risks, and anecdotal evidence such as self - help books and web postings suggest increasing patient frustration. Possible factors behind the deteriorating doctor / patient relationship include the current system for training physicians and differences in how doctors and patients view the practice of medicine. Doctors may focus on diagnosis and treatment, while patients may be more interested in wellness and being listened to by their doctors. Many primary care physicians no longer see their patients while they are in the hospital ; instead, hospitalists are used. The use of hospitalists is sometimes mandated by health insurance companies as a cost - saving measure which is resented by some primary care physicians. Administrative costs The health care system in the U.S. has a vast number of players. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of insurance companies in the U.S. This system has considerable administrative overhead, far greater than in nationalized, single - payer systems, such as Canada 's. An oft - cited study by Harvard Medical School and the Canadian Institute for Health Information determined that some 31 % of U.S. health care dollars, or more than $1,000 per person per year, went to health care administrative costs, nearly double the administrative overhead in Canada, on a percentage basis. According to the insurance industry group America 's Health Insurance Plans, administrative costs for private health insurance plans have averaged approximately 12 % of premiums over the last 40 years. There has been a shift in the type and distribution of administrative expenses over that period. The cost of adjudicating claims has fallen, while insurers are spending more on other administrative activities, such as medical management, nurse help lines, and negotiating discounted fees with health care providers. A 2003 study published by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association ( BCBSA ) also found that health insurer administrative costs were approximately 11 % to 12 % of premiums, with Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans reporting slightly lower administrative costs, on average, than commercial insurers. For the period 1998 through 2003, average insurer administrative costs declined from 13 % to 12 % of premiums. The largest increases in administrative costs were in customer service and information technology, and the largest decreases were in provider services and contracting and in general administration. The McKinsey Global Institute estimated that excess spending on `` health administration and insurance '' accounted for as much as 21 % of the estimated total excess spending ( $477 billion in 2003 ). According to a report published by the CBO in 2008, administrative costs for private insurance represent approximately 12 % of premiums. Variations in administrative costs between private plans are largely attributable to economies of scale. Coverage for large employers has the lowest administrative costs. The percentage of premium attributable to administration increases for smaller firms, and is highest for individually purchased coverage. A 2009 study published by BCBSA found that the average administrative expense cost for all commercial health insurance products was represented 9.2 % of premiums in 2008. Administrative costs were 11.1 % of premiums for small group products and 16.4 % in the individual market. One study of the billing and insurance - related ( BIR ) costs borne not only by insurers but also by physicians and hospitals found that BIR among insurers, physicians, and hospitals in California represented 20 -- 22 % of privately insured spending in California acute care settings. Third - party payment problem and consumer - driven insurance Most Americans pay for medical services largely through insurance, and this can distort the incentives of consumers since the consumer pays only a portion of the ultimate cost directly. The lack of price information on medical services can also distort incentives. The insurance which pays on behalf of insureds negotiate with medical providers, sometimes using government - established prices such as Medicaid billing rates as a reference point. This reasoning has led for calls to reform the insurance system to create a consumer - driven health care system whereby consumers pay more out - of - pocket. In 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act was passed, which encourages consumers to have a high - deductible health plan and a health savings account. Overall costs U.S. Healthcare Costs as a Percentage of GDP 2000 -- 2011 U.S. Healthcare Costs per Capita 2000 -- 2011 The U.S. spends more as a percentage of GDP than similar countries, and this can be explained either through higher prices for services themselves, higher costs to administer the system, or more utilization of these services, or to a combination of these elements. Free - market advocates claim that the health care system is `` dysfunctional '' because the system of third - party payments from insurers removes the patient as a major participant in the financial and medical choices that affect costs. The Cato Institute claims that because government intervention has expanded insurance availability through programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, this has exacerbated the problem. According to a study paid for by America 's Health Insurance Plans ( a Washington lobbyist for the health insurance industry ) and carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, increased utilization is the primary driver of rising health care costs in the U.S. The study cites numerous causes of increased utilization, including rising consumer demand, new treatments, more intensive diagnostic testing, lifestyle factors, the movement to broader - access plans, and higher - priced technologies. The study also mentions cost - shifting from government programs to private payers. Low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid have increased cost - shifting pressures on hospitals and doctors, who charge higher rates for the same services to private payers, which eventually affects health insurance rates. Health care costs rising far faster than inflation have been a major driver for health care reform in the United States. Surgical, injury, and maternal and neonatal health hospital visit costs increased by more than 2 % each year from 2003 -- 2011. Further, while average hospital discharges remained stable, hospital costs rose from $9,100 in 2003 to $10,600 in 2011, and were projected to be $11,000 by 2013. In March 2010, Massachusetts released a report on the cost drivers which it called `` unique in the nation ''. The report noted that providers and insurers negotiate privately, and therefore the prices can vary between providers and insurers for the same services, and it found that the variation in prices did not vary based on quality of care but rather on market leverage ; the report also found that price increases rather than increased utilization explained the spending increases in the past several years. Equity Coverage U.S. health insurance coverage by source in 2016. CBO estimated ACA / Obamacare was responsible for 23 million persons covered via exchanges and Medicaid expansion. Main article : Health insurance coverage in the United States Enrollment rules in private and governmental programs result in millions of Americans going without health care coverage, including children. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 45.7 million Americans ( 15.3 % of the total population ) had no health insurance coverage in 2007. However, statistics regarding the insured population are difficult to pinpoint for a number of factors, with the Census Bureau writing that `` health insurance coverage is likely to be underreported ''. Further, such statistics do not provide insight into the reason a given person might be uninsured. Studies have shown that approximately one third of this 45.7 million person population of uninsured persons is actually eligible for government insurance programmes such as Medicaid / Medicare, but has elected not to enroll. The largest proportion of the population of uninsured Americans is persons earning in excess of $50,000 per annum, with those earning over $75,000 p.a. comprising the fastest - growing segment of the uninsured population. U.S. Citizens who earn too much money to qualify for government assistance with insurance programs but who do not earn enough to purchase a private health insurance plan make up approximately 2.7 % percent of the total US population ( 8.2 million of approximately 300 million total population, by 2003 figures ). States like California offer insurance coverage for children of low income families, but not for adults ; other states do not offer such coverage at all : both parent and child are caught in the notorious coverage `` gap. '' Although EMTALA certainly keeps alive many working - class people who are badly injured, the 1986 law neither requires the provision of preventive or rehabilitative care, nor subsidizes such care, and it does nothing about the difficulties in the American mental health system. Coverage gaps also occur among the insured population. Johns Hopkins University professor Vicente Navarro stated in 2003, `` the problem does not end here, with the uninsured. An even larger problem is the underinsured '' and `` The most credible estimate of the number of people in the United States who have died because of lack of medical care was provided by a study carried out by Harvard Medical School Professors Himmelstein and Woolhandler. They concluded that almost 100,000 people died in the U.S. yearly because of lack of needed care. '' Another study by the Commonwealth Fund published in Health Affairs estimated that 16 million U.S. adults were underinsured in 2003. The study defined underinsurance as characterized by at least one of the following conditions : annual out - of - pocket medical expenses totaling 10 % or more of income, or 5 % or more among adults with incomes below 200 % of the federal poverty level ; or health plan deductibles equaling or exceeding 5 % of income. The underinsured were significantly more likely than those with adequate insurance to forgo health care, report financial stress because of medical bills, and experience coverage gaps for such items as prescription drugs. The study found that underinsurance disproportionately affects those with lower incomes -- 73 % of the underinsured in the study population had annual incomes below 200 % of the federal poverty level. Another study focusing on the effect of being uninsured found that individuals with private insurance were less likely to be diagnosed with late - stage cancer than either the uninsured or Medicaid beneficiaries. A study examining the effects of health insurance cost - sharing more generally found that chronically ill patients with higher co-payments sought less care for both minor and serious symptoms while no effect on self - reported health status was observed. The authors concluded that the effect of cost sharing should be carefully monitored. Coverage gaps and affordability also surfaced in a 2007 international comparison by the Commonwealth Fund. Among adults surveyed in the U.S., 37 % reported that they had foregone needed medical care in the previous year because of cost ; either skipping medications, avoiding seeing a doctor when sick, or avoiding other recommended care. The rate was higher -- 42 % --, among those with chronic conditions. The study reported that these rates were well above those found in the other six countries surveyed : Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK. The study also found that 19 % of U.S. adults surveyed reported serious problems paying medical bills, more than double the rate in the next highest country. Even being eligible for Medicaid does not guarantee access to healthcare. Physicians may elect to not accept Medicaid patients. According to one study, top reasons for physicians refusing to participate in Medicaid include slow reimbursement, complex regulations, too much paperwork, and the necessity for extra staff to process the excess paperwork. Mental health See also : Mental health § United States 2, and Mentally ill prisoners in the United States Mental illness affects one out of six adults in the United States. That is about 44.7 million people, as of 2016. In 2006, mental disorders were ranked one of the top five most costly medical conditions, which expenditures of $57.5 billion. A lack of mental health coverage for Americans bears significant ramifications to the U.S. economy and social system. A report by the U.S. Surgeon General found that mental illnesses are the second leading cause of disability in the nation and affect 20 % of all Americans. It is estimated that less than half of all people with mental illnesses receive treatment ( or specifically, an ongoing, much needed, and managed care ; where medication alone, can not easily remove mental conditions ) due to factors such as stigma and lack of access to care. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 mandates that group health plans provide mental health and substance - related disorder benefits that are at least equivalent to benefits offered for medical and surgical procedures. The legislation renews and expands provisions of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. The law requires financial equity for annual and lifetime mental health benefits, and compels parity in treatment limits and expands all equity provisions to addiction services. Insurance companies and third - party disability administrators ( most notably, Sedgwick CMS ) used loopholes and, though providing financial equity, they often worked around the law by applying unequal co-payments or setting limits on the number of days spent in inpatient or outpatient treatment facilities. Medical underwriting and the uninsurable In most states in the U.S., people seeking to purchase health insurance directly must undergo medical underwriting. Insurance companies seeking to mitigate the problem of adverse selection and manage their risk pools screen applicants for pre-existing conditions. Insurers reject many applicants or quote increased rates for those with pre-existing conditions. Diseases that can make an individual uninsurable include serious conditions, such as arthritis, cancer, and heart disease, but also such common ailments as acne, being 20 pounds over or under weight, and old sports injuries. An estimated 5 million of those without health insurance are considered `` uninsurable '' because of pre-existing conditions. Proponents of medical underwriting argue that it ensures that individual health insurance premiums are kept as low as possible. Critics of medical underwriting believe that it unfairly prevents people with relatively minor and treatable pre-existing conditions from obtaining health insurance. One large industry survey found that 13 % of applicants for individual health insurance who went through medical underwriting were denied coverage in 2004. Declination rates increased significantly with age, rising from 5 % for those under 18 to just under one - third for those aged 60 to 64. Among those who were offered coverage, the study found that 76 % received offers at standard premium rates, and 22 % were offered higher rates. The frequency of increased premiums also increased with age, so for applicants over 40, roughly half were affected by medical underwriting, either in the form of denial or increased premiums. In contrast, almost 90 % of applicants in their 20s were offered coverage, and three - quarters of those were offered standard rates. Seventy percent of applicants age 60 -- 64 were offered coverage, but almost half the time ( 40 % ) it was at an increased premium. The study did not address how many applicants who were offered coverage at increased rates chose to decline the policy. A study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund in 2001 found that, among those aged 19 to 64 who sought individual health insurance during the previous three years, the majority found it unaffordable, and less than a third ended up purchasing insurance. This study did not distinguish between consumers who were quoted increased rates due to medical underwriting and those who qualified for standard or preferred premiums. Some states have outlawed medical underwriting as a prerequisite for individually purchased health coverage. These states tend to have the highest premiums for individual health insurance. Medical underwriting in the United States is now heavily regulated by the federal government, with numerous constraints set up by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Demographic differences Main article : Race and health in the United States Health disparities are well documented in the U.S. in ethnic minorities such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics. When compared to whites, these minority groups have higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality, and poorer health outcomes. Among the disease - specific examples of racial and ethnic disparities in the United States is the cancer incidence rate among African Americans, which is 25 % higher than among whites. In addition, adult African Americans and Hispanics have approximately twice the risk as whites of developing diabetes and have higher overall obesity rates. Minorities also have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and HIV / AIDS than whites. In the U.S., Asian Americans live the longest ( 87.1 years ), followed by Latinos ( 83.3 years ), whites ( 78.9 years ), Native Americans ( 76.9 years ), and African Americans ( 75.4 years ). A 2001 study found large racial differences exist in healthy life expectancy at lower levels of education. Public spending is highly correlated with age ; average per capita public spending for seniors was more than five times that for children ( $6,921 versus $1,225 ). Average public spending for non-Hispanic blacks ( $2,973 ) was slightly higher than that for whites ( $2,675 ), while spending for Hispanics ( $1,967 ) was significantly lower than the population average ( $2,612 ). Total public spending is also strongly correlated with self - reported health status ( $13,770 for those reporting `` poor '' health versus $1,279 for those reporting `` excellent '' health ). Seniors comprise 13 % of the population but take 1 / 3 of all prescription drugs. The average senior fills 38 prescriptions annually. A new study has also found that older men and women in the South are more often prescribed antibiotics than older Americans elsewhere, even though there is no evidence that the South has higher rates of diseases requiring antibiotics. There is considerable research into inequalities in health care. In some cases these inequalities are caused by income disparities that result in lack of health insurance and other barriers to receiving services. According to the 2009 National Healthcare Disparities Report, uninsured Americans are less likely to receive preventive services in health care. For example, minorities are not regularly screened for colon cancer and the death rate for colon cancer has increased among African Americans and Hispanic people. In other cases, inequalities in health care reflect a systemic bias in the way medical procedures and treatments are prescribed for different ethnic groups. Raj Bhopal writes that the history of racism in science and medicine shows that people and institutions behave according to the ethos of their times. Nancy Krieger wrote that racism underlies unexplained inequities in health care, including treatment for heart disease, renal failure, bladder cancer, and pneumonia. Raj Bhopal writes that these inequalities have been documented in numerous studies. The consistent and repeated findings were that black Americans received less health care than white Americans -- particularly when the care involved expensive new technology. One recent study has found that when minority and white patients use the same hospital, they are given the same standard of care. Prescription drug issues Drug efficiency and safety See also : Regulation of therapeutic goods in the United States The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) is the primary institution tasked with the safety and effectiveness of human and veterinary drugs. It also is responsible for making sure drug information is accurately and informatively presented to the public. The FDA reviews and approves products and establishes drug labeling, drug standards, and medical device manufacturing standards. It sets performance standards for radiation and ultrasonic equipment. One of the more contentious issues related to drug safety is immunity from prosecution. In 2004, the FDA reversed a federal policy, arguing that FDA premarket approval overrides most claims for damages under state law for medical devices. In 2008 this was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Riegel v. Medtronic. On June 30, 2006, an FDA ruling went into effect extending protection from lawsuits to pharmaceutical manufacturers, even if it was found that they submitted fraudulent clinical trial data to the FDA in their quest for approval. This left consumers who experience serious health consequences from drug use with little recourse. In 2007, the House of Representatives expressed opposition to the FDA ruling, but the Senate took no action. On March 4, 2009, an important U.S. Supreme Court decision was handed down. In Wyeth v. Levine, the court asserted that state - level rights of action could not be pre-empted by federal immunity and could provide `` appropriate relief for injured consumers. '' In June 2009, under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius signed an order extending protection to vaccine makers and federal officials from prosecution during a declared health emergency related to the administration of the swine flu vaccine. Prescription drug prices This article appears to contradict the article Prescription drug prices in the United States. Please see discussion on the linked talk page. ( October 2009 ) Main article : Prescription drug prices in the United States During the 1990s, the price of prescription drugs became a major issue in American politics as the prices of many new drugs increased exponentially, and many citizens discovered that neither the government nor their insurer would cover the cost of such drugs. Per capita, the U.S. spends more on pharmaceuticals than any other country, although expenditures on pharmaceuticals accounts for a smaller share ( 13 % ) of total health care costs compared to an OECD average of 18 % ( 2003 figures ). Some 25 % of out - of - pocket spending by individuals is for prescription drugs. The U.S. government has taken the position ( through the Office of the United States Trade Representative ) that U.S. drug prices are rising because U.S. consumers are effectively subsidizing costs which drug companies can not recover from consumers in other countries ( because many other countries use their bulk - purchasing power to aggressively negotiate drug prices ). The U.S. position ( consistent with the primary lobbying position of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ) is that the governments of such countries are free riding on the backs of U.S. consumers. Such governments should either deregulate their markets, or raise their domestic taxes in order to fairly compensate U.S. consumers by directly remitting the difference ( between what the companies would earn in an open market versus what they are earning now ) to drug companies or to the U.S. government. In turn, pharmaceutical companies would be able to continue to produce innovative pharmaceuticals while lowering prices for U.S. consumers. Currently, the U.S., as a purchaser of pharmaceuticals, negotiates some drug prices but is forbidden by law from negotiating drug prices for the Medicare program due to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act passed in 2003. Democrats have charged that the purpose of this provision is merely to allow the pharmaceutical industry to profiteer off of the Medicare program. Impact of drug companies The U.S. is one of two countries in the world that allows direct - to - consumer advertising of prescription drugs. Critics note that drug advertisements cost money which they believe have raised the overall price of drugs. When health care legislation was being written in 2009, the drug companies were asked to support the legislation in return for not allowing importation of drugs from foreign countries. Healthcare reform debate Further information : Health care reform in the United States A poll released in March 2008 by the Harvard School of Public Health and Harris Interactive found that Americans are divided in their views of the U.S. health system, and that there are significant differences by political affiliation. When asked whether the U.S. has the best health care system or if other countries have better systems, 45 % said that the U.S. system was best and 39 % said that other countries ' systems are better. Belief that the U.S. system is best was highest among Republicans ( 68 % ), lower among independents ( 40 % ), and lowest among Democrats ( 32 % ). Over half of Democrats ( 56 % ) said they would be more likely to support a presidential candidate who advocates making the U.S. system more like those of other countries ; 37 % of independents and 19 % of Republicans said they would be more likely to support such a candidate. 45 % of Republicans said that they would be less likely to support such a candidate, compared to 17 % of independents and 7 % of Democrats. A 2004 Institute of Medicine ( IOM ) report said, `` the United States is among the few industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee access to health care for its population. '' There is currently an ongoing political debate centering on questions of access, efficiency, quality, and sustainability. Whether a government - mandated system of universal health care should be implemented in the U.S. remains a hotly debated political topic, with Americans divided along party lines in their views of the U.S. health system and what should be done to improve it. Those in favor of universal health care argue that the large number of uninsured Americans creates direct and hidden costs shared by all, and that extending coverage to all would lower costs and improve quality. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Alan Reynolds argues that people should be free to opt out of health insurance, citing a study by economists Craig Perry and Harvey Rosen that found `` the lack of health insurance among the self - employed does not affect their health. For virtually every subjective and objective measure of their health status, the self - employed and wage - earners are statistically indistinguishable for each other. '' Both sides of the political spectrum have also looked to more philosophical arguments, debating whether people have a fundamental right to have health care provided to them by their government. Lobbying by insurance company and health care industry representatives has played an important role in health care reform efforts. Key politicians such as Senator Max Baucus have taken the option of single payer health care off the table entirely. In a June 2009 NBC News / Wall Street Journal survey, 76 % said it was either `` extremely '' or `` quite '' important to `` give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance. '' Advocates for single - payer health care often point to other countries, where national government - funded systems produce better health outcomes at lower cost. Opponents deride this type of system as `` socialized medicine '', and it has not been one of the favored reform options by Congress or the President in both the Clinton and Obama reform efforts. It has been pointed out that socialized medicine is a system in which the government owns the means of providing medicine. England is an example of socialized system, as, in America, is the Veterans Health Administration. Medicare is an example of a mostly single - payer system, as is France. Both of these systems have private insurers to choose from, but the government is the dominant purchaser. As an example of how government intervention has had unintended consequences, in 1973, the federal government passed the Health Maintenance Organization Act, which heavily subsidized the HMO business model -- a model that was in decline prior to such legislative intervention. The law was intended to create market incentives that would lower health care costs, but HMOs have never achieved their cost - reduction potential. Piecemeal market - based reform efforts are complex. One study evaluating current popular market - based reform policy packages concluded that if market - oriented reforms are not implemented on a systematic basis with appropriate safeguards, they have the potential to cause more problems than they solve. According to economist and former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, only a `` big, national, public option '' can force insurance companies to cooperate, share information, and reduce costs. Scattered, localized, `` insurance cooperatives '' are too small to do that and are `` designed to fail '' by the moneyed forces opposing Democratic health care reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March 2010, did not include such an option. As of 2016, healthcare spending in the U.S. went up 4.3 percent to 3.3 trillion dollars nationwide, which is $10,438 per person. Most of the money, precisely 32 percent, is being spent on Hospital Care, which insurance should cover Due to the growing class gap and increasing amount of people that are uninsured, less people are getting healthcare because they are afraid that the medical costs will plummet them into debt. While there has been government intervention that tries to prevent this problem, the amount our country spends on healthcare is still catastrophic. Patient Protection and Affordable care Act ( 2010 ) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( Public Law 111 - 148 ) is a health care reform bill that was signed into law in the United States by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law includes a large number of health - related provisions, most of which took effect in 2014, including expanding Medicaid eligibility for people making up to 133 % of FPL, subsidizing insurance premiums for individuals and families making up to 400 % of FPL and capping expenses from 2 % to 9.8 % of annual income. For the first time, all health policies sold in the United States must cap an individual 's ( or family 's ) medical expenses out of pocket annually. Other provisions include providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits, prohibiting denial of coverage and denial of claims based on pre-existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges, prohibiting insurers from establishing annual spending caps and support for medical research. The costs of these provisions are offset by a variety of taxes, fees, and cost - saving measures, such as new Medicare taxes for high - income brackets, taxes on indoor tanning, cuts to the Medicare Advantage program in favor of traditional Medicare, and fees on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies ; there is also a tax penalty for citizens who do not obtain health insurance ( unless they are exempt due to low income or other reasons ). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the net effect ( including the reconciliation act ) will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143 billion over the first decade. However, two months later, the office subsequently acknowledged that there was an additional $115 billion in funds needed that were not originally included in the estimate. Additionally, the CBO estimated that although projected premiums in 2016 would be lower by $100 per person for small and large business health insurance plans with the Affordable Care Act than without, individual plans would be higher by $1,900 with the bill. The first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act began in October 2013. Prior to this period, access to healthcare and insurance coverage trends were worsening on a national level. A large, national survey of American adults found that after the act 's first two enrollment periods, self - reported coverage, health, and access to care improved significantly. Furthermore, insurance coverage for low - income adults were significantly greater in states that expanded Medicaid in comparison with states that did not expand Medicaid. However, discrepancies do exist between those covered by Medicaid versus those covered by private insurance. Those insured by Medicaid tend to report fair or poor health, as opposed to excellent or very good health. In May 2011, the state of Vermont became the first state to pass legislation establishing a single - payer health care system. The legislation, known as Act 48, establishes health care in the state as a `` human right '' and lays the responsibility on the state to provide a health care system which best meets the needs of the citizens of Vermont. After reviewing the costs and procedures for implementing such a program, the state decided against such a measure in late 2014. On December 22, 2017 the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Inside the final version of the bill was a repeal of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, which required individuals and companies to get healthcare for themselves and their employees. It was this mandate which kept healthcare costs down under the PPACA by promoting cost sharing over a larger pool. Economists believe the repeal of the individual mandate will lead to higher premiums and lower enrollment in the current market though they do n't agree with how much. In 2017 the new Republican healthcare bill known as the American Health Care Act was passed by the House of Representatives under President Donald Trump. Although the Affordable Care Act and the American Health Care Act both propose tax cuts in order to make insurance more affordable for Americans ; however, each of these bills affected Americans in different ways. The people most affected by President Trump 's plan are young people, individuals of a higher socioeconomic status, and people who live in urban areas. Young people because individuals between the age of 20 and 30 will see drops in the premiums they pay within their plans. Individuals with higher socioeconomic status because whereas under Obamacare individuals could only make up to $50,000 dollars annually and still receive tax breaks, now under Trump 's plan that number has been increase so that individuals who make up to $115,000 annually can receive tax breaks. In addition, those in urban areas can also benefit from the plan because under Obamacare tax credits were designated also by the cost of local healthcare, but the American Health Care Act does not take this into consideration although rural healthcare is generally more expensive due to the lack of hospitals and available services. Health insurance coverage for immigrants Main article : Immigrant health care in the United States Of the 26.2 million foreign immigrants living in the US in 1998, 62.9 % were non-U.S. citizens. In 1997, 34.3 % of non-U.S. citizens living in America did not have health insurance coverage opposed to the 14.2 % of native - born Americans who do not have health insurance coverage. Among those immigrants who became citizens, 18.5 % were uninsured, as opposed to noncitizens, who are 43.6 % uninsured. In each age and income group, immigrants are less likely to have health insurance. With the recent healthcare changes, many legal immigrants with various immigration statuses now are able qualify for affordable health insurance. Undocumented immigrants within the United States do not have access to government funded health insurance. Although The Affordable Care Act allows immigrants to receive insurance at a discounted rate, the same does not go for those without US citizenship. Undocumented immigrants in the US can seek medical help from community centers, or what is termed Safety Net Providers, and participate in fee for service medical assistance, but can only buy health insurance from privatized health insurers. See also Biomedical research in the United States Canadian and American health care systems compared Centers for Disease Control and Prevention timeline Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 Health care compared -- tabular comparisons of the US, Canada, and other countries not shown above. Health care industry Health care politics Health care systems ( including comparisons ) Health insurance cooperative Healthy People program List of healthcare accreditation organizations in the United States List of countries by health care expenditures Medical centers in the United States Medical debt Medicare Rights Center Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate Military Health System School health services United States National Health Care Act Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut Visitor health insurance Notes Jump up ^ Falling from 12th in 1960 to 23d in 1990 to 29th in 2004 References Jump up ^ Rosenthal, Elisabeth ( December 21, 2013 ). `` News Analysis -- Health Care 's Road to Ruin ''. New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Fast Facts on US Hospitals ''. Aha.org. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Himmelstein, David U. ; Woolhandler, Steffie ( March 2016 ). `` The Current and Projected Taxpayer Shares of US Health Costs ''. American Journal of Public Health. 106 ( 3 ) : 449 -- 52. doi : 10.2105 / AJPH. 2015.302997. PMC 4880216. PMID 26794173. Government 's share of overall health spending was 64 % of national health expenditures in 2013 Jump up ^ Leonard, Kimberly ( January 22, 2016 ). `` Could Universal Health Care Save U.S. Taxpayers Money ? ''. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 12, 2016. Jump up ^ `` How FEHB Relates to Other Government Health Insurance ''. FEDweek. May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Country Comparison : Life Expectancy at Birth ''. The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved April 22, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Murray CJ, Atkinson C, Bhalla K ; et al. ( July 10, 2013 ). `` The State of US Health, 1990 -- 2010 : Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors '' ( PDF ). Journal of the American Medical Association. 310 ( 6 ) : 591 -- 608. doi : 10.1001 / jama. 2013.13805. PMC 5436627. PMID 23842577. Retrieved July 11, 2013. CS1 maint : Explicit use of et al. ( link ) CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ CNN, Ben Tinker,. `` US life expectancy drops for second year in a row ''. CNN. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. ^ Jump up to : National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. ( 2013 ) `` U.S. Health in International Perspective : Shorter Lives, Poorer Health '' Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High - Income Countries, Steven H. Woolf and Laudan Aron, Eds. Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, and Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC : The National Academies Press. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Healthcare : Most Expensive and Worst Performing ''. The Atlantic. June 16, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ MD, Scott W. Atlas, ( 2011 ). In excellent health : setting the record straight on America 's health care and charting a path for future reform. Stanford, California : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University. pp. 199 -- 205. ISBN 0 - 8179 - 1444 - 7. Jump up ^ `` In U.S., Uninsurance rate Dips to 11.9 % in First Quarter ''. Gallup. Jump up ^ Fisher, Max. `` Here 's a Map of the Countries That Provide Universal Health Care ( America 's Still Not on It ) ''. ^ Jump up to : `` The U.S. Health Care System : An International Perspective - DPEAFLCIO ''. dpeaflcio.org. Jump up ^ `` '' There will be deaths `` : Atul Gawande on the GOP plan to replace Obamacare ''. Jump up ^ `` New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage ''. Harvard Gazette. 2009 - 09 - 17. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Kelley AS, McGarry K, Fahle S, Marshall SM, Du Q, Skinner JS ( September 8, 2012 ). `` Out - of - Pocket Spending in the Last Five Years of Life ''. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 28 ( 2 ) : 304 -- 09. doi : 10.1007 / s11606 - 012 - 2199 - x. PMC 3614143. PMID 22948931. Jump up ^ `` Obamacare lives on after Supreme Court ruling ''. CNNPolitics.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Pfuntner A., Wier L.M., Elixhauser A. Overview of Hospital Stays in the United States, 2011. HCUP Statistical Brief # 166. November 2013. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. ( 1 ). Jump up ^ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project ( HCUP ) Statistical Briefs : Overview of Hospital Stays in the United States, 2012. Rockville ( MD ) : Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( US ). 2006. PMID 21413206. Jump up ^ Alemayehu B, Warner KE ( 2004 ). `` The lifetime distribution of health care costs ''. Health Serv Res. 39 ( 3 ) : 627 -- 42. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1475 - 6773.2004. 00248. x. PMC 1361028. PMID 15149482. Jump up ^ DeNavas - Walt, Carmen ; Proctor, Bernadette D. ; Smith, Jessica C. ( September 13, 2011 ). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States : 2010 ( PDF ). U.S. Census Bureau : Current Population Reports, P60 - 239. Washington, DC : U.S. Government Printing Office. Jump up ^ Johnson, Avery ( September 17, 2010 ). `` Recession swells number of uninsured to 50.7 million ''. The Wall Street Journal. p. A4. Retrieved November 21, 2010. Wolf, Richard ( September 17, 2010 ). `` Number of uninsured Americans rises to 50.7 million ''. USA Today. p. 8A. Retrieved November 21, 2010. DeNavas - Walt, Carmen ; Proctor, Bernadette D. ; Smith, Jessica C. ( September 16, 2010 ). `` Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States : 2009 '' ( PDF ). Washington, D.C. : U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 21, 2010. Roberts, Michelle ; Rhoades, Jeffrey A. ( August 19, 2010 ). `` The uninsured in America, first half of 2009 : estimates for the U.S. civilian noninstituionalized population under age 65. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Statistical Brief # 291 '' ( PDF ). Rockville, Md. : Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ). Retrieved November 21, 2010. Cohen, Robin A. ; Martinez, Michael A. ( September 22, 2010 ). `` Health insurance coverage : early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January -- March 2010 '' ( PDF ). Hyattsville, Md. : National Center for Health Statistics ( NCHS ). Retrieved November 21, 2010. `` Comparing federal government surveys that count uninsured people in America '' ( PDF ). Minneapolis, Minn. : State Health Access Data Assistance Center, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. August 26, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Medical Debt Huge Bankruptcy Culprit -- Study : It 's Behind Six - In - Ten Personal Filings ''. CBS. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2009. Jump up ^ Kavilanz, Parija B. ( March 5, 2009 ). `` Underinsured Americans : Cost to you ''. CNN. ^ Jump up to : World Health Organization assesses the world 's health system. Press Release WHO / 44 21 June 2000. ^ Jump up to : `` The World Health Report 2000 : Annex Table 1 Health system attainment and performance in all Member States, ranked by eight measures, estimates for 1997 '' ( PDF ). Who.int. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis to Step Down at End of 2012 ''. Commonwealth Fund. November 21, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2015. Jump up ^ Roehr B ( 2008 ). `` Health care in US ranks lowest among developed countries ''. BMJ. 337 ( jul21 1 ) : a889. doi : 10.1136 / bmj. a889. PMID 18644774. Jump up ^ Davis, Karen, Schoen, Cathy, and Stremikis, Kristof ( June 2010 ). `` Mirror, Mirror on the Wall : How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally, 2010 Update ''. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved June 23, 2010. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) ^ Jump up to : WHO ( 2011 ). World health statistics 2011. Geneva : World Health Organization. ISBN 978 - 92 - 4 - 156419 - 9. Jump up ^ Squires, David ; Anderson, Chloe. `` U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective ''. Jump up ^ `` Health, United States, 2015 '' ( PDF ). www.cdc.gov. June 27, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Lorenzoni, Luca ; Belloni, Annalisa ; Sassi, Franco ( 2014 ). `` Health - care expenditure and health policy in the USA versus other high - spending OECD countries ''. The Lancet. 384 ( 9937 ) : 83 -- 92. doi : 10.1016 / s0140 - 6736 ( 14 ) 60571 - 7. Jump up ^ Marian F MacDorman ; T.J. Mathews, M.S. `` Recent Trends in Infant Mortality in the United States '' ( PDF ). National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control. Retrieved August 25, 2009. Jump up ^ CNN, Ben Tinker,. `` US life expectancy drops for second year in a row ''. CNN. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Institute of Medicine. Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance ( January 13, 2004 ). Insuring America 's health : principles and recommendations. Washington, DC : National Academies Press. p. 25. ISBN 978 - 0 - 309 - 52826 - 9. Archived from the original on October 19, 2009. Jump up ^ Docteur, Elizabeth ; Oxley, Howard ( October 19, 2004 ). `` Health - system reform : lessons from experience ''. Towards high - performing health systems : policy studies. The OECD health project. Paris : OECD. pp. 25, 74. ISBN 978 - 92 - 64 - 01559 - 3. ^ Jump up to : Wilper AP, Woolhandler S, Lasser KE, McCormick D, Bor DH, Himmelstein DU ( 2009 ). `` Health insurance and mortality in US adults ''. American Journal of Public Health. 99 ( 12 ) : 2289 -- 95. doi : 10.2105 / AJPH. 2008.157685. PMC 2775760. PMID 19762659. ^ Jump up to : Goodman, John ( September 21, 2009 ). `` Does Lack Of Insurance Cause Premature Death ? ''. Health Affairs. Retrieved July 5, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Kronick, Richard ( August 2009 ). `` Health Insurance Coverage and Mortality Revisited ''. Health Services Research. 44 ( 4 ) : 1211 -- 31. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1475 - 6773.2009. 00973. x. Jump up ^ Dickman, S.L. ; Woolhandler, S. ; Bor, J. ; McCormick, D. ; Bor, D.H. ; Himmelstein, D.U. ( 2016 ). `` Health Spending For Low -, Middle -, And High - Income Americans, 1963 - 2012 ''. Health Affairs. 35 ( 7 ) : 1189 -- 1196. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. 2015.1024. ^ Jump up to : Dickman, Samuel L ; Himmelstein, David U ; Woolhandler, Steffie ( 2017 ). `` Inequality and the health - care system in the USA ''. The Lancet. 389 ( 10077 ) : 1431 -- 1441. doi : 10.1016 / s0140 - 6736 ( 17 ) 30398 - 7. Jump up ^ Davis, Karen ; Ballreich, Jeromie ( October 22, 2014 ). `` Equitable Access to Care -- How the United States Ranks Internationally ''. New England Journal of Medicine. 371 ( 17 ) : 1567 -- 1570. doi : 10.1056 / nejmp1406707. ^ Jump up to : Sommers, Benjamin D. ; Gawande, Atul A. ; Baicker, Katherine ( June 21, 2017 ). `` Health Insurance Coverage and Health -- What the Recent Evidence Tells Us ''. New England Journal of Medicine. 377 ( 6 ) : 586 -- 593. doi : 10.1056 / nejmsb1706645. Jump up ^ Frean, Molly. `` Premium subsidies, the mandate, and Medicaid expansion : Coverage effects of the Affordable Care Act '' ( PDF ). Journal of Health Economics. 53 : 73. line feed character in title = at position 65 ( help ) Jump up ^ Sommers, Benjamin D. ( May 11, 2017 ). `` State Medicaid Expansions and Mortality, Revisited : A Cost - Benefit Analysis ''. American Journal of Health Economics. 3 ( 3 ) : 392 -- 421. doi : 10.1162 / ajhe_a_00080. ISSN 2332 - 3493. ^ Jump up to : `` Global Health Observatory ( GHO ) data : Under - five mortality rate ( per 1000 live births ), 2015 ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Global Health Observatory ( GHO ) data : Maternal mortality ratio ( per 100 000 live births ), by WHO region, 2015 ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Global Health Observatory ( GHO ) data : Life expectancy data by country ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Global Health Observatory ( GHO ) data : Life expectancy data by WHO region ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Life expectancy increases by 5 years, but inequalities persist ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 9, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Global Health Observatory ( GHO ) data : Probability of dying per 1 000 live births data by WHO region ''. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Morello, Carol ( May 2, 2014 ). `` Maternal deaths in childbirth rise in the U.S. '' Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` World Health Statistics 2016 Monitoring health for the SDGs : Annex B, Tables of health statistics by country, WHO region, and globally '' ( PDF ). World Health Organization. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The World Factbook -- Central Intelligence Agency ''. www.cia.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation : United States both sexes, all ages, deaths per 100,000 ''. www.healthdata.org. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` FastStats ''. www.cdc.gov. 2017 - 08 - 03. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ 5 : 47 PM ET ( January 9, 2013 ). `` U.S. Ranks Below 16 Other Rich Countries In Health Report ''. Npr.org. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2018 AHA ''. American Hospital Association. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Wayback Machine '' ( PDF ). February 26, 2006. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on February 26, 2006. Jump up ^ `` The Hill -- Burton Act The Center On Congress at Indiana University ''. Congress.indiana.edu. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Nadkarni, M ; Philbrick, J ( 2005 ). `` Free Clinics : A National Survey ''. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 330 ( 1 ) : 25. doi : 10.1097 / 00000441 - 200507000 - 00005. More than one of pages = and page = specified ( help ) ^ Jump up to : `` Home - Doctors That DO Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine ''. Doctors That DO Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ https://www.fsmb.org/Media/Default/PDF/Census/2016census.pdf Jump up ^ `` ( Open using Adobe reader ) p. 16 '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on October 4, 2009. Jump up ^ Medical Research Spending Doubled Over Past Decade, Neil Osterweil, MedPage Today, September 20, 2005 ^ Jump up to : `` Improving Europe 's competitiveness ''. EFPIA. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Stats from 2007 Europ. Fed. of Pharm. Indust. and Assoc. Retrieved June 17, 2009, from ( 2 ) Jump up ^ `` U.S. pharmaceutical R&D expenditure 1995 - 2015 Statistic ''. Statista. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` 2008 Annual Report '' ( PDF ). PHRMA. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on December 30, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Houlton, Sarah ( September 2012 ). `` Debating Obamacare ''. Chemistry and Industry. 76 ( 9 ) : 23. doi : 10.1002 / cind. 7609_5. x. Jump up ^ Kessler, Glenn ( July 24, 2014 ). `` 10,000 Baby Boomers ''. Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Health Care Funding ''. Economist. November 18, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Jump up ^ ARAALI, MALCOLM J PROWLE, NAMARA ARTHUR. `` MEETING THE ESCALATING DEMANDS FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES OF ELDERLY POPULATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES : A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE ''. American Journal of Medical Research. 4 ( 2 ). doi : 10.22381 / ajmr4220175. Jump up ^ `` Falling Pay ''. Economist. June 14, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Reduction in Health Care Employment ''. Economist. July 25, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Eisenberg, D ( 1998 ). `` Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990 - 1997 Results of a Follow - up National Survey ''. JAMA. 280 ( 18 ) : 1569. doi : 10.1001 / jama. 280.18. 1569. More than one of pages = and page = specified ( help ) Jump up ^ M.A, Barnes, Patricia M., ; 1950 -, Bloom, Barbara, ; L., Nahin, Richard ( Array ). `` Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children ; United States, 2007 ''. Check date values in : date = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` National Health Expenditure Data : NHE Fact Sheet, '' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, referenced February 26, 2008 Jump up ^ Sean Keehan, Andrea Sisko, Christopher Truffer, Sheila Smith, Cathy Cowan, John Poisal, M. Kent Clemens, and the National Health Expenditure Accounts Projections Team, `` Health Spending Projections Through 2017 : The Baby - Boom Generation Is Coming To Medicare '', Health Affairs Web Exclusive, February 26, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Health Costs ''. Kaiseredu.org. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. October 3, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States : 2007. '' U.S. Census Bureau. Issued August 2008. ^ Jump up to : Thomas M. Selden and Merrile Sing, `` The Distribution Of Public Spending For Health Care In The United States, 2002, '' Health Affairs 27, no. 5 ( 2008 ) : w349 -- 59 ( published online July 29, 2008 ) Jump up ^ Jeffrey Pfeffer ( April 10, 2013 ). `` The Reason Health Care Is So Expensive : Insurance Companies ''. Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 17, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Improving Health Care : A Dose of Competition, Report by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, 2004 Jump up ^ Victoria Craig Bunce and JP Wieske, `` Health Insurance Mandates in the States 2008 '', The Council for Affordable Health Insurance, 2008 Jump up ^ `` Coverage & Access : Disciplinary Action Against Physicians Dropped 6 % From 2006 to 2007, Report Finds, '' Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 23, 2008. Original report : Sidney M. Wolfe and Kate Resnevic, `` Public Citizen 's Health Research Group Ranking of the Rate of State Medical Boards ' Serious Disciplinary Actions, 2005 -- 2007, '' Public Citizen, April 22, 2008 Jump up ^ Nursing Home Compare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( accessed April 24, 2008 ). Note, CMS also publishes a list of Special Focus Facilities -- nursing homes with `` a history of serious quality issues '' at Special Focus Facility ( `` SFF '' ) Initiative. ^ Jump up to : Christopher J. Conover ( October 4, 2004 ). `` Health Care Regulation : A $169 Billion Hidden Tax '' ( PDF ). Cato Policy Analysis. 527 : 1 -- 32. Retrieved February 19, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Ho V, Ku - Goto MH, Jollis JG ( 2009 ). `` Certificate of Need ( CON ) for cardiac care : controversy over the contributions of CON ''. Health Serv Res. 44 ( 2 Pt 1 ) : 483 -- 500. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1475 - 6773.2008. 00933. x. PMC 2677050. PMID 19207590. ^ Jump up to : Dalmia, Shikha ( August 26, 2009 ). `` The Evil - Mongering of the American Medical Association ''. Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2014. Jump up ^ Medical miscalculation creates doctor shortage, USA Today, March 2, 2005 ^ Jump up to : Sending Back the Doctor 's Bill, The New York Times July 29, 2007 Jump up ^ Dalmia, Shikha ( August 26, 2009 ). `` The Evil - Mongering Of The American Medical Association ''. Forbes. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Jump up ^ Data from 2006, presented in : Criminal Background Checks for Entering Medical Students ( registration required ) by James Kleshinski, MD ; Steven T. Case, PhD ; Dwight Davis, MD ; George F. Heinrich, MD ; Robert A. Witzburg, MD. Posted : August 2, 2011 ; Academic Medicine. 2011 ; 86 ( 7 ) : 795 -- 98. Jump up ^ The Uninsured : Access to Medical Care, American College of Emergency Physicians. Retrieved October 30, 2007. Jump up ^ Fact Sheet : The Future of Emergency Care : Key Findings and Recommendations Archived September 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., Institute of Medicine, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2007. Jump up ^ HICKEY, PH. D., PHILIP ( March 20, 2014 ). `` Involuntary Mental Health Commitments ''. Behaviorism and Mental Health. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` National Library of Medicine -- Medical Subject Headings, 2011 MeSH, MeSH Descriptor Data, Quality Assurance, Health Care ''. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Bethesda, MD : National Institutes of Health. Retrieved February 19, 2015. Jump up ^ Herper, Matthew. `` Should Big Data Pick Your Next Doctor ? ''. Forbes. Retrieved May 26, 2017. Jump up ^ Ketelaar NA, Faber MJ, Flottorp S, Rygh LH, Deane KH, Eccles MP ( 2011 ). Ketelaar, Nicole ABM, ed. `` Public release of performance data in changing the behaviour of healthcare consumers, professionals or organisations ''. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 11 ( 11 ) : CD004538. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD004538. pub2. PMID 22071813. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Corrigan, Janet M. `` Crossing the quality chasm. '' Building a Better Delivery System ( 2005 ). Jump up ^ `` Strategic Plan and Priorities -- HHS.gov ''. August 26, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) ^ Jump up to : `` National Prevention Strategy '' ( PDF ). National Prevention Council. Washington, DC : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. 2011. Jump up ^ `` About ''. January 13, 2013. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Jump up ^ Access to health care in America. Institute of Medicine, Committee on Monitoring Access to Personal Health Care Services. Millman M, editor. Washington : National Academies Press ; 1993. Jump up ^ Manning WG, Newhouse JP, Duan N, Keeler EB, Benjamin B, Liebowitz A, et al. Health insurance and the demand for medical care. Evidence from a randomized experiment. Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation, 1988. Report R - 3476 - HHS. ISBN 0 - 8330 - 0864 - 1 Jump up ^ `` The Effects of Medicaid Coverage, Learning from the Oregon Experiment, '' Baicker K, Finkelstein A. N Engl J Med. 2011 August 25, 365 ( 8 ) : 683 -- 85. Jump up ^ `` National Center for Health Statistics ''. Cdc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Martin Anne B. ; et al. ( 2014 ). `` National health spending in 2012 : rate of health spending growth remained low for the fourth consecutive year ''. Health Affairs. 33 ( 1 ) : 67 -- 77. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. 2013.1254. CS1 maint : Explicit use of et al. ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Medical Expenditure Panel Survey ''. Meps.ahrq.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Measure Details ''. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Health, United States, 2013 '' ( PDF ). Cdc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Surgeon General 's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation ''. Rockville, Maryland : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. January 2010. Jump up ^ IOM ( Institute of Medicine ). 2012. How far have we come in reducing health disparities ? : Progress since 2000 : Workshop summary. Washington, DC : The National Academies Press. Jump up ^ `` Topic Area ''. February 14, 2013. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Jump up ^ ASPE ( July 23, 2012 ). `` Health Care Cost Containment and Medical Innovation ''. Aspe.hhs.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Kenworthy, Lane ( July 10, 2011 ). `` America 's inefficient health - care system : another look ''. Consider the Evidence ( blog ). Retrieved September 11, 2012. Jump up ^ Davis, Karen ( June 16, 2014 ). `` Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update : How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally ''. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved June 17, 2014. Jump up ^ Kliff, Sarah ( June 16, 2014 ). `` Five ways the American health care system is literally the worst ''. Vox. Retrieved June 17, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The World Factbook ''. Cia.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The World Factbook ''. Cia.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Ellen Nolte and C. Martin McKee, `` Measuring the Health of Nations : Updating an Earlier Analysis, '', Health Affairs, January 8, 2008, Volume 98 Jump up ^ Dunham, Will ( January 8, 2008 ). `` France best, U.S. worst in preventable death ranking ''. Reuters. Retrieved April 3, 2012. Jump up ^ Ezzati M, Friedman AB, Kulkarni SC, Murray CJ ( 2008 ). Novotny, Thomas, ed. `` The reversal of fortunes : trends in county mortality and cross-county mortality disparities in the United States ''. PLoS Med. 5 ( 4 ) : e66. doi : 10.1371 / journal. pmed. 0050066. PMC 2323303. PMID 18433290. Lay summary. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Jemal A, Ward E, Anderson RN, Murray T, Thun MJ ( 2008 ). Sorensen, Thorkild I. A, ed. `` Widening of Socioeconomic Inequalities in U.S. Death Rates, 1993 -- 2001 ''. PLoS ONE. 3 ( 5 ) : e2181. doi : 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0002181. PMC 2367434. PMID 18478119. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Healthy Living ( January 1, 1970 ). `` Healthy Living ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Doheny, Kathleen ( July 16, 2008 ). `` Cancer survival rates vary by country. Study shows U.S., Japan, and France have highest cancer survival rates ''. WebMD. Coleman MP, Quaresma M, Berrino F, Lutz JM, De Angelis R, Capocaccia R, Baili P, Rachet B, Gatta G, Hakulinen T, Micheli A, Sant M, Weir HK, Elwood JM, Tsukuma H, Koifman S, E Silva GA, Francisci S, Santaquilani M, Verdecchia A, Storm HH, Young JL ( August 2008 ). `` Cancer survival in five continents : a worldwide population - based study ( CONCORD ) ''. The Lancet Oncology. 9 ( 8 ) : 730 -- 56. doi : 10.1016 / S1470 - 2045 ( 08 ) 70179 - 7. PMID 18639491. In the CONCORD study, Cuba had the highest five - year relative survival rates for breast cancer and for colorectal cancer in women, but problems with data quality might have led to over-estimations. Jump up ^ David Gratzer, Why Is n't Government Health Care The Answer ? Archived March 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., Free Market Cure, July 16, 2007 ^ Jump up to : Robert J. Blendon, Minah Kim and John M. Benson, `` The Public Versus The World Health Organization On Health System Performance, '' Health Affairs, May / June 2001 Jump up ^ Christopher J.L. Murray, Kei Kawabata, and Nicole Valentine, `` People 's Experience Versus People 's Expectations '', Health Affairs, May / June 2001 Jump up ^ Fenton JJ, Jerant AF, Bertakis KD, Franks P ( 2012 ). `` The Cost of Satisfaction : A National Study of Patient Satisfaction, Health Care Utilization, Expenditures, and Mortality '' ( PDF ). Arch Intern Med. 172 ( 5 ) : 405 -- 11. doi : 10.1001 / archinternmed. 2011.1662. PMID 22331982. Jump up ^ Donna St. George, `` For Children, a Better Beginning, '' The Washington Post, April 24, 2008 Jump up ^ Kenneth C. Land, Project Coordinator, `` 2008 Special Focus Report : Trends in Infancy / Early Childhood and Middle Childhood Well - Being, 1994 -- 2006, '' The Foundation for Child Development Child and Youth Well - Being Index ( CWI ) Project, Foundation for Child Development ( FCD ), April 24, 2008 Jump up ^ Office of health Economics. `` International Comparison of Medicines Usage : Quantitative Analysis '' ( PDF ). Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Retrieved July 2, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care ''. Dartmouthatlas.org. December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Annie Lowrey ; Robert Pear ( July 28, 2012 ). `` Doctor Shortage Likely to Worsen With Health Law ''. The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2012. Jump up ^ Gill, P.S. ( 2012 ). `` Application of Value Stream Mapping to Eliminate Waste in an Emergency Room '' ( PDF ). Global Journal of Medical Research. 12 ( 6 ) : 51 -- 56. Jump up ^ Gill, P.S. ( 2013 ). `` Five Product Engineering Methods That Can Be Applied to Health Care Management ''. Managed Care. 3 : 21 -- 26. Jump up ^ David Cecere ( September 17, 2009 ). New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage. Harvard Gazette Retrieved August 27, 2013. Jump up ^ Woolhandler, S. ; et al. ( September 12, 2012 ). `` Despite slight drop in uninsured, last year 's figure points to 48,000 preventable deaths ''. Physicians for a National Health Program. Retrieved September 26, 2012. Jump up ^ Gerard F. Anderson, Uwe E. Reinhardt, Peter S. Hussey and Varduhi Petrosyan, `` It 's The Prices, Stupid : Why The United States Is So Different From Other Countries '', Health Affairs, Volume 22, Number 3, May / June 2003. Retrieved February 27, 2008. Jump up ^ Hadley, Jack, `` Insurance Coverage, Medical Care Use, and Short - term Health Changes Following an Unintentional Injury or the Onset of a Chronic Condition '', JAMA, March 14, 2007 ; 297 : 1073 -- 84. Jump up ^ `` Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics No. 388 '' ( PDF ). Cdc.gov. June 28, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Halpern MT, Ward EM, Pavluck AL, Schrag NM, Bian J, Chen AY ( 2008 ). `` Association of insurance status and ethnicity with cancer stage at diagnosis for 12 cancer sites : a retrospective analysis ''. The Lancet Oncology. 9 ( 3 ) : 222 -- 31. doi : 10.1016 / S1470 - 2045 ( 08 ) 70032 - 9. PMID 18282806. Lay summary : Study Finds Cancer Diagnosis Linked to Insurance, New York Times. Jump up ^ `` The Cost of Lack of Health Insurance '' ( PDF ). American College of Physicians. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on December 2, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Wayback Machine '' ( PDF ). July 14, 2011. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on July 14, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Section 167 : 64 Uncompensated Care and Medicaid Fund ''. Gencourt.state.nh.us. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Stan Dorn, Bowen Garrett, John Holahan, and Aimee Williams, `` Medicaid, SCHIP and Economic Downturn : Policy Challenges and Policy Responses, '' Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2008 Jump up ^ Valerie Ulene, `` Costs of overtreating patients, '' Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2008 Jump up ^ Emily Cox, Doug Mager, Ed Weisbart, `` Geographic Variation Trends in Prescription Use : 2000 to 2006, '' Express Scripts, January 2008 Archived February 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Effective Care, '' Archived February 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, January 15, 2007 Jump up ^ Laurence C. Baker, Elliott S. Fisher, and John E. Wennberg, `` Variations In Hospital Resource Use For Medicare And Privately Insured Populations In California, '' Health Affairs web exclusive, February 2008 Jump up ^ John E. Wennberg, Elliott S. Fisher, David C. Goodman, and Jonathan S. Skinner, `` Tracking the Care of Patients with Severe Chronic Illness : the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care 2008. '' Archived October 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, May 2008, ISBN 978 - 0 - 9815862 - 0 - 5 ( Executive Summary Archived April 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. ) Jump up ^ `` Medicare : End - of - Life Hospital Spending for Medicare Beneficiaries With Chronic Health Conditions Varies Widely, Study Finds, '' Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 7, 2008 Jump up ^ California HealthCare Foundation, `` Uncoordinated Care : A Survey of Physician and Patient Experience '', Harris Interactive. 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Tare Parker - Pople, `` Well : Doctor and Patient, Now at Odds, '' The New York Times, July 29, 2008 Jump up ^ Hospitalists and the family physician ( 3 ) by Bruce Bagley, M.D. ; American Family Physician Jump up ^ `` Use of mandatory hospitalists blasted, ACP Observer May 99 ''. Acpinternist.org. February 16, 1999. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Health Care Crisis and What to Do About It '' By Paul Krugman, Robin Wells, New York Review of Books, March 23, 2006 Jump up ^ The trade association America 's Health Insurance Plans, has some 1,300 members. Jump up ^ `` Costs of Health Administration in the U.S. and Canada '', Woolhandler, et al., NEJM 349 ( 8 ) September 21, 2003 Jump up ^ Jeff Lemieux, `` Perspective : Administrative Costs of Private Health Insurance Plans '', America 's Health Insurance Plans, 2005 Jump up ^ `` Understanding Health Plan Administrative Costs '', Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, 2003 Archived October 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Kent J. Sacia and Robert H. Dobson, `` Health Plan Administrative Cost Trends, '' Prepared for the BlueCross BlueShield Association by Milliman USA, February 20, 2003 Jump up ^ Reinhardt, Uwe E. ( November 21, 2008 ). `` Why Does U.S. Health Care Cost So Much ? ( Part II : Indefensible Administrative Costs ) ''. The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010. Jump up ^ U.S. Congressional Budget Office, Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals, December 2008 ^ Jump up to : Douglas B. Sherlock, `` Administrative Expenses of Health Plans '', Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, 2009 Jump up ^ Kahn JG, Kronick R, Kreger M, Gans DN ( 2005 ). `` The cost of health insurance administration in California : estimates for insurers, physicians, and hospitals ''. Health Aff ( Millwood ). 24 ( 6 ) : 1629 -- 39. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. 24.6. 1629. PMID 16284038. Retrieved January 22, 2008. Jump up ^ Scandlen G ( 2005 ). `` Consumer - driven health care : just a tweak or a revolution ? ''. Health Aff ( Millwood ). 24 ( 6 ) : 1554 -- 58. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. 24.6. 1554. PMID 16284028. Jump up ^ Marmor T, Oberlander J, White J ( 2009 ). `` The Obama administration 's options for health care cost control : hope versus reality ''. Ann Intern Med. 150 ( 7 ) : 485 -- 89. doi : 10.7326 / 0003 - 4819 - 150 - 7 - 200904070 - 00114. PMID 19258549. Free full - text. Jump up ^ Liebowitz, Stan Policy Analysis : Why Health Care Costs So Much, Cato Institute, June 23, 1994 ^ Jump up to : The Factors Fueling Rising Healthcare Costs 2006, PriceWaterhouseCoopers for America 's Health Insurance Plans, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Confronting The Medicare Cost Shift ''. Managed Care Magazine. Retrieved June 28, 2007. Jump up ^ Weiss AJ, Barrett ML, Steiner CA ( July 2014 ). `` Trends and Projections in Inpatient Hospital Costs and Utilization, 2003 -- 2013 ''. HCUP Statistical Brief # 175. Rockville, MD : Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ^ Jump up to : Health Care Cost Trends. Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services. See Appendix B : Preliminary Report of the Massachusetts Attorney General ( PDF ), pp. 1 -- 2, for quote and summary. Jump up ^ `` Federal Subsidies for Health Insurance Coverage for People Under Age 65 ''. CBO. March 24, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States : 2009 '' ( PDF ). Census.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Myth of the 46 Million ''. The American Spectator. March 20, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` US Code ''. Caselaw.lp.findlaw.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ New England Journal of Medicine 336, no. 11, 1997 Jump up ^ The Inhuman State of U.S. Health Care, Monthly Review, Vicente Navarro, September 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2009 Jump up ^ Schoen C, Doty MM, Collins SR, Holmgren AL ( June 14, 2005 ). `` Insured But Not Protected : How Many Adults Are Underinsured ? ''. Health Affairs Web Exclusive. Suppl Web Exclusives : W5 -- 289 -- W5 -- 302. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. w5. 289. PMID 15956055. Retrieved August 11, 2007. Jump up ^ Mitchell D. Wong, Ronald Andersen, Cathy D. Sherbourne, Ron D. Hays, and Martin F. Shapiro `` Effects of Cost Sharing on Care Seeking and Health Status : Results From the Medical Outcomes Study, '' American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, No. 11, November 2001 Jump up ^ Schoen C, Osborn R, Doty MM, Bishop M, Peugh J, Murukutla N ( November 1, 2007 ). `` Toward Higher - Performance Health Systems : Adults ' Health Care Experiences in Seven Countries, 2007 ''. Health Affairs Web Exclusive. 26 ( 6 ) : w717 -- 34. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. 26.6. w717. PMID 17978360. Retrieved November 6, 2007. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Margolis, Peter ( April 1992 ). `` Factors Associated With Pediatricians ' Participation in Medicaid in North Carolina ''. JAMA. 267 : 1942 -- 1946. line feed character in title = at position 39 ( help ) Jump up ^ `` NIMH '' Mental Illness ``. www.nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Data on behavioral health in the United States ''. http://www.apa.org. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. External link in website = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` The Carter Center Mental Health Program : Combating the Stigma of Mental Illness ''. The Carter Center. Retrieved July 30, 2008. Jump up ^ Weiss, Rick ( June 7, 2005 ). `` Study : U.S. Leads In Mental Illness, Lags in Treatment ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 30, 2008. Jump up ^ Pear, Robert ( March 6, 2008 ). `` House Approves Bill on Mental Health Parity ''. The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Sedgwick Ignores Medical Records and Denies Disability Benefits '' on YouTube Jump up ^ Andrews, Michelle ( August 7, 2007 ). `` The Untouchables ''. Health. U.S. News and World Report. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007. Jump up ^ Marcus, Aliza ( May 7, 2008 ). `` Baby Kendra 's $300,000 Bill Pains Insurers, Inspires Candidates ''. Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 10, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Risk Classification in Individually Purchased Voluntary Medical Expense Insurance '', American Academy of Actuaries, ( February 1999 ) Jump up ^ `` The `` Uninsurables '' ``. CBS News. May 23, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007. Jump up ^ Teresa Chovan, Hannah Yoo and Tom Wildsmith, `` Individual Health Insurance : A Comprehensive Survey of Affordability, Access, and Benefits '', America 's Health Insurance Plans, August 2005 Jump up ^ Teresa Chovan, Hannah Yoo and Tom Wildsmith `` Individual Health Insurance : A Comprehensive Survey of Affordability, Access, and Benefits '', America 's Health Insurance Plans, August 2005. See Table 7, p. 11 ( Note that the remainder, roughly 2 %, received other types of offers, such as policies with condition waivers ). Jump up ^ Lisa Duchon and Cathy Schoen ( December 1, 2001 ). `` Experiences of Working - Age Adults in the Individual Insurance Market ''. Issue Brief. Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved October 27, 2007. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ States include New York, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Jump up ^ Teresa Chovan, Hannah Yoo and Tom Wildsmith, `` Individual Health Insurance : a Comprehensive Survey of Affordability, Access, and Benefits '', America 's Health Insurance Plans, August 2005. See Tables 2 and 3. Jump up ^ `` How Buying Insurance Will Change Under Obamacare ''. Kff.org. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. September 24, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Goldberg, J., Hayes, W., and Huntley, J. `` Understanding Health Disparities. '' Archived May 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Health Policy Institute of Ohio ( November 2004 ), p. 3. ^ Jump up to : American Public Health Association ( APHA ), Eliminating Health Disparities : Toolkit ( 2004 ). Jump up ^ Campanile, Carl ( November 23, 2012 ). `` Americans are getting fatter : poll ''. Nypost.com. New York Post. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Sarah Burd - Sharps and Kristen Lewis. Geographies of Opportunity : Ranking Well - Being by Congressional District. 2015. Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council. Jump up ^ Trends in healthy life expectancy in the united states, 1970 -- 1990 : gender, racial, and educational differences Jump up ^ Tronetti, Pamela ( January 11, 2011 ). `` Senior consult : Check drugs supplements to avoid interactions ''. Melbourne, Florida : Florida Today. p. 1D. Jump up ^ O'Connor, Anahad ( September 25, 2012 ). `` Well : Antibiotic Prescription ? It May Depend on Where You Live ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` How Trends in the Health Care System Affect Low - Income Adults : Identifying Access Problems and Financial Burdens '', Issue Brief : Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, December 21, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2008. Jump up ^ Habib JL ( 2010 ). `` Progress lags in infection prevention and health disparities ''. Drug Benefit Trends. 22 ( 4 ) : 112. Jump up ^ Bhopal R ( June 1998 ). `` Spectre of racism in health and health care : lessons from history and the United States ''. BMJ. 316 : 1970 -- 73. doi : 10.1136 / bmj. 316.7149. 1970. PMC 1113412. PMID 9641943. Jump up ^ Oberman A, Cutter G ( 1984 ). `` Issues in the natural history and treatment of coronary heart disease in black populations : surgical treatment ''. Am Heart J. 108 : 688 -- 94. doi : 10.1016 / 0002 - 8703 ( 84 ) 90656 - 2. PMID 6332513. Jump up ^ Kjellstrand C. Age, sex, and race inequality in renal transplantation. Arch Intern Med. 1988. 148 : 1305 -- 09. Jump up ^ Mayer W, McWhorter WP ( 1989 ). `` Black / white differences in nontreatment of bladder cancer patients and implications for survival ''. Am J Public Health. 79 : 772 -- 74. doi : 10.2105 / ajph. 79.6. 772. PMC 1349641. PMID 2729474. Jump up ^ Yergan J, Flood AB, LoGerfo JP, Diehr P ( 1987 ). `` Relationship between patient race and the intensity of hospital services ''. Med Care. 25 : 592 -- 603. doi : 10.1097 / 00005650 - 198707000 - 00003. PMID 3695664. Jump up ^ `` Black - white disparities in health care ''. JAMA. 263 : 2344 -- 46. 1990. doi : 10.1001 / jama. 263.17. 2344. PMID 2182918. Jump up ^ Darrell J. Gaskin, Christine S. Spencer, Patrick Richard, Gerard F. Anderson, Neil R. Powe, and Thomas A. LaVeist, `` Do Hospitals Provide Lower - Quality Care To Minorities Than To Whites ?, '' Health Affairs, March / April 2008 Jump up ^ `` In the Literature : Do Hospitals Provide Lower - Quality Care To Minorities Than To Whites ?, '' The Commonwealth Fund, March 11, 2008 Jump up ^ `` What FDA Regulates ''. June 4, 2009. Archived from the original on June 4, 2009. Jump up ^ Glantz, Leonard H. ; Annas, George J. ( May 1, 2008 ). `` The FDA, Preemption, and the Supreme Court ''. N Engl J Med. 358 ( 18 ) : 1883 -- 85. doi : 10.1056 / NEJMp0802108. PMID 18450601 -- via Taylor and Francis. Jump up ^ `` Wyeth v. Levine ''. Oyez. Chicago - Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech. n.d. Jump up ^ 74 FR 30294, Federal Register : June 25, 2009 ( Volume 74, Number 121 ), pp. 30294 -- 97. Jump up ^ Coverage Under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness ( PREP ) Act for H1N1 Vaccination Flu.gov, retrieved November 11, 2009 Jump up ^ `` OECD Health Data, How Does the United States Compare '' ( PDF ). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved April 14, 2007. Jump up ^ Heffler S, Smith S, Keehan S, Clemens MK, Zezza M, Truffer C ( 2004 ). `` Health spending projections through 2013 ''. Health Aff ( Millwood ). Suppl Web Exclusives : W4 -- 79 -- 93, See especially exhibit 5. doi : 10.1377 / hlthaff. w4. 79. PMID 15451969. Jump up ^ See the summary of the official U.S. position in the `` Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ( PhRMA ) Special 301 Submission of 2008 '', February 11, 2008, 10 -- 20. Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Berenson, Alex ( November 6, 2006 ). `` As Drug Prices Climb, Democrats Find Fault With Medicare Plan ''. The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010. Jump up ^ Mansfield, Peter R. ; Mintzes, Barbara ; Richards, Dee ; Toop, Les ( December 30, 2004 ). `` Direct to consumer advertising ''. BMJ. 330 ( 7481 ) : 5 -- 6. doi : 10.1136 / bmj. 330.7481. 5. PMC 539827. PMID 15626784 -- via www.bmj.com. Jump up ^ Hook, Janet ; Levey, Noam N. ( December 16, 2009 ). `` Senate healthcare bill advances with rejection of imported drugs ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Most Republicans Think the U.S. Health Care System is the Best in the World. Democrats Disagree., '' Press Release, Harvard School of Public Health and Harris Interactive, March 20, 2008 Jump up ^ `` Americans ' Views on the U.S. Health Care System Compared to Other Countries, '' Archived April 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Harvard School of Public Health and Harris Interactive, March 20, 2008 Jump up ^ `` Insuring America 's Health : Principles and Recommendations ''. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Archived from the original on October 19, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2007. Jump up ^ Reynolds, Alan ( October 3, 2002 ). `` No Health Insurance ? So What ? ''. The Cato Institute. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007. Jump up ^ Center for Economic and Social Rights. `` The Right to Health in the United States of America : What Does it Mean ? '' October 29, 2004. Archived February 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Sade RM ( December 1971 ). `` Medical care as a right : a refutation ''. N. Engl. J. Med. 285 ( 23 ) : 1288 -- 92. doi : 10.1056 / NEJM197112022852304. PMID 5113728. Jump up ^ Seabrook, Andrea & Overby, Peter ( July 23, 2009 ). `` Drug Firms Pour $40 Million Into Health Care Debate. '' NPR. Retrieved on July 23, 2009. Jump up ^ Lorber, Jennie ( July 21, 2009 ). `` Lobbying Increases as Health Care Debate Intensifies. '' The New York Times. Retrieved on July 23, 2009. Jump up ^ Eggen, Dan ( July 21, 2009 ). `` Industry Cash Flowed To Drafters of Reform ; Key Senator Baucus Is a Leading Recipient. '' Washington Post. Retrieved on July 22, 2009. Jump up ^ `` HART / McINTURFF, NBC News / Wall Street Journal Survey, Study # 6095, Jun 12 -- 15, 2009 '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ Reinhardt, Uwe E. ( May 8, 2009 ). `` What Is ' Socialized Medicine ' ? : A Taxonomy of Health Care Systems ''. The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Health Reform for Beginners : The Difference Between Socialized Medicine, Single - Payer Health Care, and What We 'll Be Getting ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2010. Jump up ^ Ronald Bailey. `` Mandatory Health Insurance Now ! It will save private medicine -- and spur medical innovation ''. Reason Magazine. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2006. Jump up ^ Linda J. Blumberg and Len Nichols, `` Health Insurance Market Reforms : What They Can and Cannot Do, '' Urban Institute, November 1, 1995 Jump up ^ `` Robert Reich Public Option Video ''. YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ ( PDF ) https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` What Country Spends The Most ( And Least ) On Health Care Per Person ? ''. NPR.org. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` 5 key things to remember about health care reform ''. CNN. March 25, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Policies to Improve Affordability and Accountability ''. The White House. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Health Care Reform Bill 101 ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Jump up ^ `` How do out - of - pocket maximums work ? FAQs ''. Bcbsm.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Peter Grier, Health care reform bill 101 : Who will pay for reform ?, Christian Science Monitor ( March 21, 2010 ). Jump up ^ Grier, Peter ( March 19, 2010 ). `` Health care reform bill 101 : Who must buy insurance ? ''. Christian Science Monitor. Washington, D.C. Retrieved April 7, 2010. Jump up ^ Congressional Budget Office, Cost Estimates for H.R. 4872, Reconciliation Act of 2010 ( Final Health Care Legislation ) ( March 20, 2010 ). Jump up ^ Manchikanti, Laxmaiah ( January 2011 ). `` Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 : Reforming the Health Care Reform for the New Decade '' ( PDF ). Pain Physician. 14 : E35 -- E67. line feed character in title = at position 52 ( help ) Jump up ^ Sommers, B ( 2015 ). `` Changes in Self - reported Insurance Coverage, Access to Care, and Health Under the Affordable Care Act ''. JAMA. 314 ( 4 ) : 366. doi : 10.1001 / jama. 2015.8421. More than one of pages = and page = specified ( help ) Jump up ^ Hadley, Jack ( Winter 2003 ). `` Is Health Care Spending Higher under Medicaid or Private Insurance ? ''. Sage Journals. 40 : 323 -- 342. Jump up ^ Fitzgerald, Jay ( January 25, 2015 ). `` Costs derail Vermont 's single - payer health plan ''. The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Pear, Robert ( 2017 - 12 - 18 ). `` Without the Insurance Mandate, Health Care 's Future May Be in Doubt ''. The New York Times. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Trump health bill : Winners and losers ''. BBC News. 2017 - 05 - 04. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ Carrasquillo O, Carrasquillo AI, Shea S ( June 1, 2000 ). `` Health insurance coverage of immigrants living in the United States : differences by citizenship status and country of origin ''. Am J Public Health. 90 ( 6 ) : 917 -- 23. doi : 10.2105 / AJPH. 90.6. 917. PMC 1446276. PMID 10846509 -- via ajph.aphapublications.org ( Atypon ). CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Find out what immigration statuses qualify for coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace ''. HealthCare.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Obamacare : Visitors, International students, immigrants & US citizens ''. VisitorGuard.com. December 24, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Health Insurance for Immigrants Covered California TM ''. www.coveredca.com. Retrieved November 17, 2016. Further reading Burnham, John C. Health Care in America : A history ( 2015 ), A standard comprehensive scholarly history excerpt Byrd, W. Michael, and Linda A. Clayton. An American health dilemma : A medical history of African Americans and the problem of race : Beginnings to 1900 ( Routledge, 2012 ). Christensen, Clayton Hwang MD, Jason, Grossman MD, Jerome, The Innovator 's Prescription, McGraw Hill, 2009. ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 159208 - 6 Deutsch, Albert. The mentally ill in America : A History of their care and treatment from colonial times ( 1937 ). Johnston, Robert D., ed. The politics of healing : histories of alternative medicine in twentieth - century North America ( Routledge, 2004 ). Judd, Deborah, and Kathleen Sitzman. A history of American nursing ( 2nd ed. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2013 ). Leavitt, Judith Walzer, and Ronald L. Numbers, eds. Sickness and health in America : Readings in the history of medicine and public health 3rd ed. 1997 ). Essays by experts. Mahar, Maggie, Money - Driven Medicine : The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much, Harper / Collins, 2006. ISBN 978 - 0 - 06 - 076533 - 0 Risse, Guenter B., Ronald L. Numbers, and Judith Walzer Leavitt, eds. Medicine without doctors : Home health care in American history ( Science History Publications / USA, 1977 ). Starr, Paul, The Social Transformation of American Medicine, Basic Books, 1982. ISBN 0 - 465 - 07934 - 2 Warner, John Harley Warner and Janet A. Tighe, eds. Major Problems in the History of American Medicine and Public Health ( 2001 ) 560pp ; Primary and secondary sources Historiography Burnham, John C. What Is Medical History ? ( 2005 ) 163 pp. excerpt Numbers, Ronald L. `` The History of American Medicine : A Field in Ferment '' Reviews in American History 10 # 4 ( 1982 ) 245 -- 63 in JSTOR External links National Center for Health Statistics from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) National Health Expenditure Data ( U.S. ) from United States Department of Health and Human Services ( DHHS ) United States profile from the World Health Organization Health Care in the United States at Curlie ( based on DMOZ ) FamiliesUSA contains links to numerous studies and literature about various aspects of health care in the US. Health care Economics Equipment Guidelines Industry Philosophy Policy Providers Ranking Reform System Professions Medicine Nursing Healthcare science Dentistry Allied health professions Pharmacy Health information management Settings Assisted living Clinic Hospital Nursing home Medical school ( Academic health science centre, Teaching hospital ) Care Acute Chronic End - of - life Hospice Overutilization Palliative Primary Self Total Skills / Training Bedside manner Cultural competence Diagnosis Education Universal precautions Category Life in the United States Crime Culture Economic issues affluence eviction home - ownership household income income inequality labor unions middle class personal income poverty standard of living wealth Education ( attainment ) Family structure Health health care health insurance Holidays Homelessness Human rights Languages Passenger vehicle transport Political ideologies Race Religion Social class Society Sports Health in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands United States articles History By event Timeline of U.S. history Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Continental Congress American Revolution War American frontier Confederation Period Drafting and ratification of Constitution Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial acquisitions Territorial evolution Mexican -- American War Civil War Reconstruction Era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era African - American civil rights movement 1865 -- 1896 / 1896 -- 1954 / 1954 -- 1968 Spanish -- American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front Nazism in the United States American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War ( 1991 -- 2008 ) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War Recent events ( 2008 -- present ) By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890 -- 1945 1946 -- 91 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Rivers Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Ohio Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial Courts of appeals District courts Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism Local government Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State government governor state legislature state court Uncle Sam Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Communications Energy Insurance Manufacturing Mining Tourism Trade Transportation Companies by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Wall Street Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Cuisine Dance Demography Education Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Internet Newspapers Radio Television Music Names People Philosophy Public holidays Religion Sexuality Sports Theater Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home - ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Wealth Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination affirmative action antisemitism intersex rights islamophobia LGBT rights racism same - sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care abortion health insurance hunger obesity smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Book Category Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Health_care_in_the_United_States&oldid=836937825 '' Categories : Health in the United States Healthcare in the United States Medicare and Medicaid ( United States ) Public services of the United States Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Explicit use of et al. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list CS1 errors : invisible characters Pages with citations having redundant parameters All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links CS1 errors : dates Pages with login required references or sources Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown CS1 errors : external links CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs Wikipedia articles in need of updating from March 2017 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Use American English from May 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from November 2017 Articles to be expanded from December 2017 All articles to be expanded Articles with empty sections from December 2017 All articles with empty sections Articles using small message boxes All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016 All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from March 2018 Wikipedia articles needing style editing from April 2017 All articles needing style editing Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2010 Articles contradicting other articles Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009 Pages using div col with deprecated parameters Articles with Curlie links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Deutsch Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Lumbaart 日本 語 Русский Suomi Svenska 中文 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 17 April 2018, at 19 : 06. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many hospitals are there in the united states
Answer: 5,534 registered hospitals; 5,534; 5,534