The U.S. spent nearly twice as much per capita on healthcare as comparable countries in 2018, according to a recently released Peterson-Kaiser Tracker analysis.
Here are three of the top drivers of U.S. healthcare spending, according to the analysis.
1. Inpatient and outpatient care was the largest category of healthcare spending in both the U.S. and comparable countries. This category includes payments to hospitals, clinics and physicians. Americans spent $6,624 per person on inpatient and outpatient care while comparable countries spent $2,718 on average.
2. Prescription drugs cost more in the U.S. than in comparable countries, according to the analysis. The U.S. spent $1,397 per capita on prescription drugs and other medical goods in 2018, and comparable countries spent $885 per capita on average.
3. Spending on health administration was four times more per person in the U.S than in comparable countries. For the analysis, administrative costs included spending on overhead from insurers and running governmental health programs but excluded administrative expenditures from healthcare providers.
Read the full analysis here.